Jose Mourinho called Manchester United’s Europa League clash with
Zorya Luhansk a “must-win” encounter on Wednesday, but their 1-0 victory at Old
Trafford had the home fans pulling their hair out for long spells as they
watched a team of superstars being undermined by the lack of creativity offered
by Marouane Fellaini.
Paul Pogba might be the world’s most expensive player, but United
still often show a worrying lack of ideas in terms of how best to cater for the
Frenchman. And while he was far from at his best as the Reds laboured to three
points, the presence of Fellaini in the role just alongside him helped to bring
United down to Zorya’s level.
The home side spent far too much time playing into the hands of
their opponents with frighteningly slow build-up play and too little movement
between the lines. It is hard to imagine that the presence of Michael Carrick
rather than Fellaini at the base of midfield would not have added for more to
their attacking presence.
With none of Carrick’s vision and a fraction of the Englishman’s
passing ability, Fellaini was hung out to dry by Mourinho from the second he
was selected in the pivot role alongside Pogba. For all his endeavour, and the
threat he can offer in the final third, the Belgian is simply not a playmaker.
His evening was best summed up midway through the second half when
he won possession only to immediately give the ball away again. Having then
snaked a leg around his opponent to regain the initiative, he simply fell on
the ball and conceded a free-kick for handball.
Moments later the fourth official's board went up for the first
time, but Jesse Lingard, rather than Fellaini, was hauled off. On came Wayne
Rooney and while he immediately made an impact, it was far more inadvertent
than he would have liked as he teed up Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the long-awaited
opener.
Rooney was left in the open with an apparent tap-in from Tim
Fosu-Mensah’s cross but completely scuffed his effort and saw it bounce up for
Ibrahimovic to nod home at the far post instead. It was a goal which summed up
United’s performance: ill-judged and fortunate.
While Fellaini has been persevered with at the heart of the engine
room, Carrick has still started only one game since the Community Shield win
over Leicester City on August 7 and that came against League One side
Northampton Town in the League Cup. In fact, his 12-minute sub appearance
against Claudio Ranieri’s champions at the weekend is his only Premier League
outing under Mourinho.
After a performance of real verve and urgency in the 4-1 win on
Saturday, with Ander Herrera supporting Fellaini superbly, this was a repeat of
the frustrations of the Louis van Gaal era for which the former Everton man
became a poster boy.
But if Pogba is going to become the smiling figurehead of the
Mourinho regime, then Fellaini needs to give way to Carrick or Herrera sooner
rather than later.
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