Manchester United is only 5 points away from the top 4 of the Premier League after a 2-1 victory over Luton Town but to participate in the Champions League, the Red Devils need to control the matches better.
Although Kenilworth Road is one of the smallest stadiums in the Premier League this season with somewhat old architecture, this is a place where the big guys have to “sweat” every time they march. Arsenal needed a header in stoppage time from Declan Rice to win 4-3, Liverpool only got 1 point on this field, defending champions Manchester City only had a minimum victory of 2-1, even In fact, an emerging giant of English football, Newcastle United had to “hang their shirts” with a score of 0-1. Last night seemed like it would be an easy match for Man United when Erik ten Hag’s team had 2 goals in the first 7 minutes of the match, but Luton did not give the guests “easy breathing”.
Right at 37 seconds, Rasmus Hojlund put his name on the scoreboard after a disastrous mistake by the home team’s defender, thereby entering Man United’s history by becoming the fastest scorer on away field. Continuing the excitement, 7 minutes later, the Danish striker once again made fans remember him with a close-range header after Alejandro Garnacho’s previous volley left goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski helpless.
Leading 2-0 after less than 10 minutes, it was thought that this would be a strong victory for the Red Devils, but suddenly in the 14th minute, Luton pulled one goal back thanks to Carlton Morris with a dangerous close-range header. From this moment, it was surprising that the match was completely controlled by the home team even though Ten Hag’s army was rated much higher.
Previously on Saturday night, Tottenham Hotspur unexpectedly stumbled against Wolverhampton Wanderers, so Man United really needed a victory against Luton to close the gap with the Champions League group, but after last night’s match, even though they actually took got 3 points from Kenilworth Road but coach Ten Hag himself was not satisfied with his students.
“We flourished in the first few minutes, but the whole team must be more focused throughout the entire match,” the Dutch coach said after the match. “If you don’t stay awake for 90 minutes, you will be punished. We cannot let this situation continue, we must play more focused, control the match even when things are the most chaotic. From an easy victory, we were “tortured” most of the time today.”
Last night’s victory was the fifth consecutive time the home team at Old Trafford had a triumphant song, but it was yet another match where Man United smiled with a “bruised face”.