Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he is expecting both Manchester United and Chelsea to find their “rhythm” despite both clubs having poor starts to the season.
The Red Devils find themselves in 13th place, having won just 2 of their opening 5 fixtures, while Chelsea sit one place below them in the table. Asked for his thoughts on the plights of the two teams, Guardiola replied:
“Well, they didn’t start like I thought they expected, like Chelsea, but always Man United, Chelsea, sooner or later, they take the rhythm.”
United did struggle at the start of Erik ten Hag‘s first season in charge as well, losing their first two games, but they quickly turned things around with a 2-1 home win against Liverpool.
There hasn’t been a similarly morale-boosting result so far this campaign, with their two victories coming against Wolves and Nottingham Forest where, it must be said, the Red Devils didn’t look at all convincing.
They were lucky not to concede a last-minute penalty in their season opener versus Wolves, while they went 2-0 down in the first 5 minutes against Forest.
Injuries have impacted United’s form
In his press conference ahead of the Bayern Munich game, ten Hag claimed he has never been able to pick his first-choice eleven due to injury problems.
The fact that United currently have 10 players out injured, and another 2 unavailable due to off-field matters, does suggest that ten Hag has a point.
It should be pointed out that other managers at other clubs have had to deal with similar crises so it can’t be used as an excuse for poor performances. The team that started against Brighton at the weekend was good enough to secure the 3 points and the manner of the defeat was unacceptable. Fans will be hoping that Guardiola is right and that the team can rediscover some form soon.
