Manchester United’s UEFA Champions League dream looks all but over, after being held to a 3-3 draw in Istanbul. It was a must-win game for Erik ten Hag and he will be scratching his head as to how his team didn’t walk away with a vital three points.
The Red Devils took a two-goal lead twice in the game, but as shown already this season in Europe, if they concede one, the floodgates open, players seem to panic, and the basics of the game are discarded.
To score three goals in all three of their European away games this season and only collect one point is ridiculous, which could lead to Ten Hag re-thinking which personnel deserves their spot in the starting XI.
Victor Lindelof’s stats vs Galatasaray
The player under the spotlight for the wrong reasons is Sweden’s Victor Lindelof. The defender’s performance on Wednesday evening earned him a 6/10 rating by the Manchester Evening News, with the occasion and hostile atmosphere swallowing him up.
According to Sofascore, Lindelof alarmingly had ten fewer touches than Andre Onana, with the goalkeeper used more in the build-up than the centre half. He gave the ball away eight times, despite playing mainly safe passes throughout the ninety minutes.
Furthermore, the defender was dribbled past in the first half which led to a goal-scoring opportunity for the hosts. A positive for the Sweden international is that he won all five of his aerial duels, although Mauro Icardi and Dries Mertens didn’t contest with much urgency.
Although impossible to display by statistics, Lindelof’s lack of physicality, athleticism and aggressiveness makes him far too easy to play against.
Andre Onana drew attention away from how poor 6/10 Man Utd man was v Gala
This 6/10 man let Manchester United down alongside Andre Onana in the side’s 3-3 draw with Galatasaray.
ByAdam ScullyNov 30, 2023
He is often caught out of position by entering ground duels that he is not going to win, which leaves gaps in dangerous areas for the opponent to exploit as he lacks recovery speed to retreat in time. This was clear to see against Galatasaray, with the number two having a 0% ground duel win rate.
The player who could replace Victor Lindelof
When on the field, Raphael Varane is typically extremely reliable, however, his availability has been a huge issue, with the French defender prone to injuries. Since joining United in 2021, Varane has endured eight different injuries, with the latest occurring towards the end of August.
Ten Hag looks to be carefully managing the fitness of the 30-year-old, yet he may be forced into starting him more frequently than he would probably like to at this stage.
2023/24
Unknown
27 days
2022/23
Foot
24 days
2022/23
Leg
23 days
2022/23
Ankle sprain
5 days
2021/22
Muscular problems
18 days
2021/22
Covid
8 days
2021/22
Abdominal problems
4 days
2021/22
Hamstring
50 days
2021/22
Groin
15 days
Data via Transfermarkt.
Unfortunately, Varane hasn’t played enough minutes in the Premier League to have a scout report on FBref this season, but we can still compare his Champions League report to Lindelof’s.
It is instantly obvious that Varane is a much more dominant defender, losing 0% of his challenges and making 1.41 tackles per game, whereas the 29-year-old is yet to make a successful tackle in four appearances. The former Real Madrid player is also superior at reading the game and being proactive out of possession, making 1.06 interceptions per game, compared to Lindelof’s 0.3.
Furthermore, from an in-possession perspective, there isn’t a massive upside to starting Lindelof over Varane either, with the Swede boasting sub-par statistics in touches and carries according to FBref.
Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand, has also previously labelled Varane a ‘calming influence’ and his experience of playing in enormous matches may just have got United over the line yesterday. Lindelof, on the other hand, had been labelled a "liability" on too many occasions.
Overall, if it wasn’t for Varane’s lack of reliability he would be starting, but this piece further highlights the need for centre-back reinforcement in the transfer window.