Amid the frustration of Manchester United losing the 2018 FA Cup final to Chelsea, United's followers asked the same questions about the way the season had faded, about the style of football and about why their team have to go behind for them to start playing. Time and again this season, United have only started to perform when a goal down. Sometimes, as in the semi-final when Tottenham Hotspur took the lead, United have needed to be at their compelling best to come back and triumph.
In the Premier League, United were dreadful at relegation-threatened Crystal Palace and went 2-0 down before scoring three times to win the game in a dramatic late finish which echoed the spirit of Alex Ferguson's finest sides. United did the same at Manchester City last month. From 2-0 down to 3-2 up. It is baffling that a side has the quality to do that against the runaway league leaders – and then lose to the three promoted sides and bottom-of-the-table West Bromwich Albion.
Sometimes, United leave it too late – as against Sevilla in the Uefa Champions League last 16 where they only started playing 160 minutes into 180 minutes of the tie after going behind. That remains the low point of a frustrating season.
When Eden Hazard's penalty gave Chelsea the lead after 21 minutes in Saturday's final it wasn't until the second half that Jose Mourinho's men registered a first shot at the well guarded Chelsea goal. David de Gea had attempted more passes than Alexis Sanchez in the first half.
United have so much attacking talent and yet so little attacking threat. They struggled to break down a Chelsea side who were adept at keeping United away from their area. Mourinho felt that the absence of Romelu Lukaku and Marouanne Fellaini made the Blues' task easier on a warm and sunny London afternoon. Mourinho had won 12 of his 14 cup finals, but his side couldn’t come from behind against his former team.
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Richard Jolly: Malfunctioning Manchester United experiencing technical difficulties under Jose Mourinho
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What is also baffling is that when United start on the front foot and go ahead, they almost always win. In 38 league games this season, United only failed to win twice after taking the lead – at Stoke City and Leicester City. United’s best sides were often attacking from the first whistle, not this one though.
The cup final defeat and United’s performances since winning April’s Manchester derby should not cloud United’s entire season. Mourinho’s team picked up an impressive 81 points and a second-place finish. There have been wins against champions City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal. It’s the best United side since Ferguson left in 2013, but it’s not yet a great United side. The style of football seldom enthrals.
The gap in class between United and the best was shown in the first competitive game of the season against Real Madrid in Skopje. Such is football, that Madrid team could end up losing to a Liverpool side who were well beaten by United in their most recent league meeting in Saturday's Champions League final.
That will do nothing for the mood among United fans, who are already frustrated that Manchester City’s greatest ever side won the league by 19 points and that Liverpool are going to Kiev with a chance of winning a sixth European Cup. Plenty of United fans were singing "Viva Ronaldo" on Saturday in the hope that their former player can beat Liverpool. It’s slightly desperate, but United are slightly desperate. And it was a desperate end to a season as Chelsea, for the second time in 11 years, beat United 1-0 in an FA Cup final at Wembley. Both of those games were dull.
United won the league and the Champions League a year after that 2007 game – against Chelsea in Moscow a decade ago on Monday – but few can see United as European champions in a year’s time.
Then again, few could see United as domestic double winners a year after they last finished second in the league and lost the FA Cup final, in 1995. Fortunes can change quickly in football, but even such a monumental change seems unlikely right now as fans fail to see through the fog of despondency after Saturday’s defeat.
Football lends itself to disappointment. And there’s a lot of disappointment around Manchester United right now.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Schedule
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
Dubai World Cup draw
1. Gunnevera
2. Capezzano
3. North America
4. Audible
5. Seeking The Soul
6. Pavel
7. Gronkowski
8. Axelrod
9. New Trails
10. Yoshida
11. K T Brave
12. Thunder Snow
13. Dolkong
More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs: 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
Price, base: Dh1.2 million
Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 725hp @ 6,500pm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.3L / 100km (estimate)
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
More from Aya Iskandarani
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (PA) Group 1 | US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) Listed | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) Conditions | $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Major matches on Manic Monday
Andy Murray (GBR) v Benoit Paire (FRA)
Grigor Dimitrov (BGR) v Roger Federer (SUI)
Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Gilles Muller (LUX)
Adrian Mannarino (FRA) Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Fight card
1. Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) v Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)
2. Featherweight: Hussein Salim (IRQ) v Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)
3. Catchweight 80kg: Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Khamza Yamadaev (RUS)
4. Lightweight: Ho Taek-oh (KOR) v Ronald Girones (CUB)
5. Lightweight: Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) v Damien Lapilus (FRA)
6. Bantamweight: Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) v Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)
7. Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)
8. Flyweight: Shannon Ross (TUR) v Donovon Freelow (USA)
9. Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Dan Collins (GBR)
10. Catchweight 73kg: Islam Mamedov (RUS) v Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM)
11. Bantamweight World title: Jaures Dea (CAM) v Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
12. Flyweight World title: Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)
