‘The Pride of All Europe’ is one of the most popular Manchester United terrace chants and includes the line “We beat ’em at home and we beat ’em away”.
United are doing the former on a run of ten consecutive away victories, but while it’s 12 years since United were the pride of Europe and champions of the continent, United have also stopped beating teams at home.
The three games at Old Trafford so far this season have seen two defeats and Saturday's draw against Chelsea, while the final two home league games of last season were also draws.
United are back at an empty Old Trafford on Wednesday for a Champions League game against Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig. Like United, who defeated Paris Saint-Germain in France, the Germans won last week in their opening group game against Istanbul Basaksehir 2-0 to start with three points.
“Ten points in the group stage should get you through and our aim is to get to ten points as quickly as possible,” said Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who expects to have a full squad available.
That squad, according to midfielder Scott McTominay, is approaching full fitness after a minimal pre-season. “The games are a chance for us to get fit and now we’re starting to see proper fitness levels with everyone focused on getting in the team and staying there.”
Solskjaer describes this season as “exceptional ... and we play a game every three days and we’ll do this relentlessly to the end of the season”. He is concerned by the risk of injury if his players are pushed too hard.
“We need to look after the boys. It's going to be a long season. The depth of our squad is better now and to leave players out – Donny [van de Beek], Nemanja [Matic] and Paul [Pogba] in midfield in the last game, all of them experienced international footballers – it’s not easy, but we have so many games and they’re all going to play a big part in different periods of the season. The most successful teams have competition for places.”
Van de Beek, a £40 million ($52.2m) close season signing from Ajax, supposedly brought in for that very reason is yet to start a game, raising eyebrows.
“When players come into a new league and new team it’s always going to be a time to adapt,” is Solskjaer’s explanation. “When Donny has played, he has played really well. It says a lot about our depth of quality in the squad that we don’t have to use him in every game. We have other players as well. It also says a lot about our ambitions as we want to challenge for trophies this season.”
In a clear message to Van de Beek he said: “You don’t have to start the first three games to be a very important player in the squad. I would be disappointed if some of my teammates said I was not important at Man United but I didn’t start many games. Donnie is going to play a big part for us this season.”
What does Van de Beek think about all this? “Donny comes to training every day with a big smile on his face, wanting to work hard and impress everybody,” said McTominay. “I’m confident that he’ll be an important figure in this team and his arrival has lifted everybody along with Alex and Edinson. We saw the way Alex played in Paris and Donny coming off the bench and showing his ability.
"There’s no time to panic for Donny. People can be so quick to come to an assumption that he’s not playing. Give him time, Let him settle.”
Of United’s opponents RB Leipzig, who qualified after finishing third in the Bundesliga last season. Solskjaer said: “They have come up through the ranks very impressively and have almost improved every single season and got to the [Champions League] semi-final last season. They’re going for the big trophies.”
After losing out to PSG in the semi-final, the Germans are unbeaten in their nine opening games in all competitions with six wins and three draws.
His opposite number was full of compliments for manager Julian Nagelsmann. “He’s young, proactive and an interesting coach to watch. He’s adaptable with players who have high energy, high tempo and they’ve been interesting to follow in the last few years.
"The style is always there, they want to dominate, it’s high tempo and high pressure. We prepare for a difficult game against a team that can play in many different ways. Our focus is on ourselves.
"We have to give them problems and solve what problems they give us. It’s one of those coaches and teams where you don’t really know what’s going to happen until it’s live.”
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Player ratings for United 0 Chelsea 0
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David de Gea - 6. A star in the win over Paris Saint-Germain, a squib at Old Trafford. Clean sheet will be appreciated – his first at Old Trafford in six league games. AFP -
Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 6. Fine defending. Threw himself to ground with a late attack. EPA -
Victor Lindelof - 7. Another positive game for the defender who had the better of Timo Werner and pushed forward as United went for a winner. United’s best player. AFP -
Harry Maguire - 7. Back after missing PSG and to continue his run of every Premier League game since he joined United. Fortunate not to have a penalty awarded against him. Otherwise fine. EPA -
Luke Shaw - 6. Got forward more as game went on. Blocked Reece James effectively. AFP -
Fred - 6. 50th Premier League game in the Mancunian rain was not what it was in the Parisian equivalent. Still, solid and stable. Key late interception. Reuters -
Scott McTominay - 6. Solid and unspectacular, but works well alongside Fred and United’s midfield far harder to pass through than against Spurs. EPA -
Daniel James - 4. Ran onto balls in dangerous positions – and then ran into opponents without ever troubling them. Better coming back to defend, but didn’t offer enough for a United attacker. EPA -
Bruno Fernandes - 6. Bought as a game changer, but limited against Chelsea’s defensive wall as United have failed to win in their first three home games for first time in 48 years. His late overhead kick as wishful as the aspirations of either team to win. AFP -
Juan Mata - 6. Accurate shot five minutes before half time and one of the better players in the first half but he shook his head as he was substituted. There were worse players, but Mata’s been good this season and this was his least effective game. AFP -
Marcus Rashford - 6. Best chance of first half, but struck ball at Mendy when there was space to his right. United generally offered little up front. Booked in frustration after losing ball. Super late shot brought a fine save. AFP -
SUB: Paul Pogba (Mata 51') - 6: Went into Fernandes’ position. Some beautiful ball control and effective tackles. Reuters -
SUB: Edinson Cavani (James 51') - 5: Almost scored with his first touch. Bright runs across defenders, but his crosses didn’t find their range. EPA -
SUB: Mason Greenwood (McTominay 81') - N/A: A lively cameo as United pushed for a goal late on. AFP -
Edouard Mendy - 7, Just about avoided severe embarrassment after a poor pass attempt nearly went in his own net but made some great saves to redeem himself. EPA -
Cesar Azpilicueta - 8, This role on the right of a back three suits the Spaniard well, and he looked solid defensively throughout. Reuters -
Thiago Silva - 8, Was comfortable at the centre of Chelsea’s backline and pulled off a block towards the end that ensured they kept a clean sheet. Reuters -
Kurt Zouma - 7, Like his fellow centre-backs, the Frenchman rarely looked troubled in the slightest by Manchester United’s largely tame front line. EPA -
Reece James - 8, Put in a great performance down the right, showing quality in both his attacking and defensive play. AFP -
Jorginho - 6, He looked good with the ball but didn’t manage to turn that into anything truly productive. Reuters -
N’Golo Kante - 7, One of the more alert players in this game, who kept the ball ticking over well and at least made an effort to get Chelsea going up the pitch. AFP -
Ben Chilwell - 7, He was pretty quiet in an attacking sense, but the England international was another man in blue who looked confident defensively. Reuters -
Christian Pulisic - 6, One of Chelsea’s more threatening players in the game, but that doesn’t say a lot. AFP -
Kai Havertz - 5, Struggled to impact the game in a very meaningful way – he needs to do much more if he is to justify his fee. Reuters -
Timo Werner - 5, Worked hard and made himself available for his teammates but didn’t threaten United’s defence much at all. AFP -
SUB Tammy Abraham (Werner 72’) – N/R, Just continued the trend of Chelsea attackers failing to make much of an impact. Reuters -
SUB Mason Mount (Havertz 72’) – N/R, Added a bit of extra energy for the Blues, but didn’t threaten the United backline much. EPA -
SUB Hakim Ziyech (Pulisic 81’) – N/R, Failed to show the sort of quality he was renowned for at Ajax - he’ll surely get better as he continues his return from injury. AFP
