Manchester United progress to the fourth round of this year’s EFL Cup on penalties, but only after having their many problems exposed by third-tier Rochdale. It was a night that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will quickly want to forget, but it raised pertinent questions about the current state of his side.
This was uninspiring fare from United, even though Mason Greenwood’s second-half breakthrough briefly threatened to save Solskjaer from a discreditable draw for the second time in the space of a week. The youngster performed similar heroics against Astana last Thursday, but Rochdale had a teenage dream of their own: Luke Matheson.
A year younger than Greenwood and still a schoolboy, Matheson latched onto a cross from former United scholar Oliver Rathbone, volleyed into the turf and past goalkeeper Sergio Romero to score a shock equaliser, just eight minutes after United's opener.
Rochdale could have led much earlier. At the start of the second half, they created the best opening of the night when Jimmy Keohane danced through United's defence and pulled the ball back from the byline. Callum Camps had a clear sight of goal from only a couple of yards out, but the dependable Aaron Wan-Bissaka made a critical goal-line clearance.
It was a huge let-off for United. At that point, it seemed as if Solskjaer's side would be made to pay for blunt attacking play and too many poor, speculative efforts from range. United had 31 shots in total. Marcos Rojo, who spent much of the night as a centre-half, had the joint-most with seven.
That illustrates how Solskjaer's side are badly failing to create clear-cut opportunities against organised defences. The same problem has afflicted them when up against Astana, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Wovlerhampton Wanderers already this season.
But at least the penalty woes of a few weeks ago appear to be behind them. Their spot-kicks in the shoot-out were faultless, in fact, while Keohane was denied by Romero. That allowed Daniel James, United's final penalty taker, to score the decisive kick and spare his manager's blushes.
