Manchester United have been struggling to secure results over the past few weeks.
A 4-2 defeat to Leicester City and a 5-0 loss to Liverpool undoubtedly provided the two low points of the season so far, yet even victories have often felt like hard work for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team.
Comeback wins have been the high points so far, especially in the Champions League. Against Atalanta, United prevailed 3-2 from 2-0 down, having also rebounded to sink Villareal 2-1. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner on both occasions.
The inability to control games and convincingly dominate their opponent has shown the weaknesses of Solskjaer's system and now it seems that United's title challenge is over before it started.
However, Solskjaer might be able to take lessons from Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel in order to rectify the situation and make a push for United to be successful in knockout competitions, especially the Champions League.
When Tuchel joined Chelsea he noticed a problem. Chelsea were massively underperforming their expected goals (much of that was down to the misfiring Timo Werner) and therefore were missing chances to win games, especially those in which they had been the major attacking force.
This is quite similar to United. Against West Ham in the EFL Cup and Everton and Aston Villa in the league, the Reds registered 68 shots but only had one goal to show for their efforts.
The clinical nature of United's forward line carried them through last season but the team seems to have lost its edge this time around, even allowing for the addition of Ronaldo.
Coming in as he did towards the end of the January window, Tuchel didn't have the possibility of improving his forward line in the transfer market, so he decided to solve the problem differently.
He understood that his team was creating enough chances to win the game by scoring one or maybe two goals, but if Chelsea could cut out the unnecessary goals conceded, he would be able to secure results.
It was a very pragmatic approach that relied upon holding possession and cutting out defensive errors, providing a more sturdy platform for the attacking talent to secure wins.
In adopting the 3-5-2 against Tottenham Hotspur, Solskjaer seemingly applied a lot of these principles. More defenders meant that the backline was able to overwhelm Spurs' disjointed attack and stop them from getting shots off. Raphael Varane was especially good at this against Harry Kane on Saturday.
More defenders also meant that David de Gea had more outlets to distribute. United were not playing as many risky passes out from the back, which in turn stopped them from being pressed high by Spurs.
The more compact lines of the 3-5-2 also helped the team retain possession while fielding Edinson Cavani as one of two strikers made up for Ronaldo's lack of pressing.
Finding a way to accommodate Ronaldo in United's system due to his goalscoring exploits, while negating the issues that he brings to the side out of possession will help the team squeeze out results in the tricky matches.
Overall we have enjoyed the fast free-flowing football of the Solskjaer era, with is enjoyable with its high risk and high reward elements. But if United are to take the next step and secure silverware this season, pragmatic football may be the way forward.
Would like to see the 3-5-2 deployed against Atalanta on Tuesday? Follow our United On My Mind writer Casey Evans on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
