Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester City on Saturday evening as their lack of a goalscoring threat haunted them again.
While their inability to build in midfield was highlighted as an issue during their Champions League struggles with PSV in midweek, another problem presented itself with the lack of chemistry between Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial this weekend.
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Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer highlighted the issues between the pair given the distance that constantly existed between the two, which in turn led to several moves breaking down as neither had the support that they needed.
While that is a problem that the players need to address during their time on the pitch together, Shearer also suggested that they were merely playing to orders with boss Louis van Gaal asking them to sit in those areas and stick to their roles.
It is unclear if that is a legitimate suggestion, but regardless, it is an issue that needs to be fixed in order for United to become a more potent threat in attack as it will enable them to link up play more efficiently and give a flow to their game.
Only Crystal Palace have scored less goals than the Red Devils out of the top six sides in the Premier League, with Van Gaal’s men scoring just 20 in 14 games.
As a result, that is putting pressure on their defence to keep them in games, and fortunately for the Dutch tactician they possess the best defensive record in the league having conceded just 10 goals in those 14 outings.
Nevertheless, it is arguably not a sustainable model if they harbour ambitions of winning silverware this season and their goalscoring record needs to improve. With Rooney and Martial looking as though they are playing entirely different games, the pair need to find a way to become more effective alongside one another.
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