Dismal draw leaves Jose Mourinho on borrowed time at Man United
Paul Scholes may have been premature last night when he suggested that Jose Mourinho’s services should have been dispensed with at the weekend but, after the boos that greeted this insipid and wholly uninspiring goalless Champions League draw with mid-table Spanish opposition, it is hard to see any other fate befalling the Manchester United manager, sooner rather than later.
A Marcus Rashford free-kick, from a wide angle, clipped the top of the Valencia bar five minutes from time and Romelu Lukaku wasted a Luke Shaw corner when he headed wide, unmarked from 15 yards, soon after.
But they were rare moments of optimism and promise on a night that once more laid bare the lack of confidence that is currently threatening to strangle the life out of United’s season, and their manager’s Old Trafford career with it.
The game started five minutes late, United having been delayed in the couple of miles journey from the city centre hotel they use as their pre-match base and as good a metaphor as any for the dysfunction currently afflicting the club.
But at least once the whistle finally sounded, United supporters could concentrate for 90 minutes at least, on football rather than the soap opera atmosphere that has blighted the club pretty much since high summer when Mourinho was not allowed to sign the players he wanted and drama quickly ensued.
And the early signs at least were encouraging for those supporters, not least on the two wings where Rashford and Alexis Sanchez provided the sort of pace and desire that has been missing for most of the season to date.
Valencia left-back Cristiano Piccini, in particular, looked set for a trying evening against Rashford, at least based on an early run which had the defender twisting and turning to try and halt the England forward’s progress in the area before he was able to make an important block.
Rashford looked even more threatening, after 14 minutes, with an eye-catching acceleration and powerful shot from the edge of the area that passed just wide of the Spanish goal.
It was a confident start, and crucially the defending was no less committed because for all their modest 14th placed position in La Liga, a Valencia attack spearheaded by on-loan Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi certainly looked capable of hurting their hosts on the break.
Eric Bailly escaped with an early moment of indecision but grew into the half and Goncalo Guedes and Jose Gaya, in particular, looked threatening.
That duo combined from Valencia’s first real attack and Gaya might have gone down, under a slight touch from Sanchez, but, fortunately for United, made the wrong decision in opting to stay on his feet.
Moments later, Guedes shot directly into David De Gea’s midriff to ensure United did not concede what would surely have been a catastrophic opening goal.
Bailly made a couple of key interceptions, likewise Chris Smalling, but as the game passed through the quarter mark, that bright, ambitious United opening had made way for something of a cautious stalemate.
Pockets of the Old Trafford crowd sporadically chanted the name of their beleaguered manager but it was the hardcore travelling contingent from Spain who had the greater cause to generate noise, a state of affairs summed up when Sanchez’s promising cross was met by Rashford who could only steer his header directly at two defenders.
Sanchez was equally profligate himself, presented with a free-kick opportunity 25 yards from goal but capable only of steering it pointlessly into the wall of white-shirted defenders.
Bailly, caught inadvertently but painfully in the throat by Rodrigo who received a yellow card for it, needed a couple of lengthy spells of treatment before the interval, hardly an encouraging sign for United given the increased confidence with which the Spanish were knocking the ball around.
And Nemanja Matic soon escaped with a casual back heeled clearance which flew straight to Daniel Parejo who cleared the goal with a shot from outside the United area.
Before the break, Guedes again briefly threatened with another wayward shot but, after it, it was the visitors who started in more positive fashion with the same player missing possibly the best chance of the match to date.
Gueye curled a shot wide from just inside the United area after Mourinho’s midfield went missing in action and Gaya’s pass picked him out.
Finally, Old Trafford’s patience was running out, chants of “Attack, attack, attack,” echoing those comments of Paul Pogba’s two weeks ago that caused the Frenchman such problems.
It worked, briefly, with a brilliant sweeping Sanchez pass allowed Rashford a header and Pogba a follow-up shot, both of which were comfortably blocked by defenders.
Pogba maintained the hope, from a 61st minute free-kick, 20 yards out and dead centre, which forced keeper Neto into tipping the ball over his bar for a corner from which United again threatened.
It was United’s best spell of the game but not to last long as a Pogba error soon gifted the ball to Piccini whose cross was laid off by Rodrigo for Batshuayi to shoot over from eight yards.
Lukaku was twice denied by Neto from half-chances and Sanchez dithered, much to the frustration of a home crowd still fearful that their team looked just as likely to concede as score.
De Gea 6; Valencia 6, Bailly 7, Smalling 6, Shaw 6; Fellaini 7, Matic 6, Pogba 6; Sanchez 5 (Martial 76, 6), Lukaku 6, Rashford 8.
Romero, Lindelof, Mata, Fred, Darmian, McTominay.
Neto 7; Piccini 6, Garray 7, Gabriel 7, Gaya 7; Coquelin 6 (Soler 78, 6), Parejo 6, Kondogbia 8, Goncalo Guedes 9 (Cheryshev 82); Batshuayi 8 (Gameiro 73, 6), Rodrigo 7.
Domenech, Ruben Vezo, Diakhaby, Wass.
S Vincic (Slovenia) 8
