Man United's control doesn't lead to goals vs. Watford as their grip on top four weakens

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Manchester United ended their game against the Hornets on Saturday with a number of players on the pitch.

Their hopes of a top-four finish were damaged by the draw at Old United, as they prepare for a run of games against Manchester City, Spurs and Liverpool. It was one of those times when it wasn't his fault that the team had 22 shots at goal and only hit the target three times.

Man United rued missed chances in the draw.

United played well from start to finish, but missed some golden chances. After just five minutes, the best was wasted when he twisted in the penalty area and hit the post. The Portuguese forward, who scored more than 800 goals during his career, looked like a shadow of the player United supporters hoped would arrive from Juventus. It is one goal in 10 for the man.

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It feels like we should have easily won, as we had enough chances in both halves to win the game, but we didn't.

The last time United played the Hornets, they lost by a score of 4-1. They are more organised and better defensively, but scoring goals is a problem.

In 17 games, United have scored two or more times just five times. After 93 minutes of wasted chances, Ben Foster became the oldest visiting goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet at Old United. The 19th-ranked Hornets have the third-worst defensive record in the league, and they were soundly beaten by Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

We had enough chances. In the first half we had four clear opportunities that normally are enough to score at least one or two goals, and the second half was the same.

We dominated the game despite the fact that we were in full control. In the last five minutes, they had one or two transitional moments, and apart from that we dominated the game completely.

There was a lot to like about the performance of United, but without a goal, it means little. He wanted his teams to control the games. This is the first time since 2020 that United have kept consecutive home clean sheets in the league. After the game againstWatford, it was apparent that the players were to blame for the result, rather than the game plan.

The coach's job is to help the team create enough chances.

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After just 20 minutes, United should have been home. After the best chance of the game was hit the post byRonaldo after being played in by Elanga, and after a goal was ruled out for being in an area that wasn't clearly marked, Fernandes had a shot saved by Foster after a cross from the left by Pogba, and

The way his team had defended was not rocket science according to Roy Hodgson, the manager of Crystal Palace.

It says everything about the form of United's attacking players that 19-year-old Elanga was their best player by a distance, and if a few others had shown the youngster's movement and urgency, Rangnick may well have ended the afternoon talking about a vital The interim coach would be forgiven for looking nervously at the fixture list.

Next weekend, United play Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, before a home game against Spurs on March 12 and then a trip to Anfield to face the Reds on March 20. With three games left in the season, it is in the hands of the fourth-place team. United can't afford more missed opportunities.