Premier League: Manchester United thrash Leeds United but a 6-2 win can't mask old problems

Manchester United showed their very best qualities during their 6-2 win over Leeds on Sunday evening, but despite the margin of their victory they demonstrated there is much still to be improved.

The three points and the six goals mean that United are now in third place in the Premier League, with a game in hand. Another win would leave them just two points behind Liverpool, who are currently top. Few would suggest that United are anywhere close to the quality of Jurgen Klopp’s side, but over the course of a season that is not necessarily an impediment to winning the league. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doesn’t have to prove himself in a one-on-one with Klopp, he merely has to get more points than him over the course of 38 games.

During a coronavirus-blighted season, this might be an oddly easy time to strike. Every side has shown that they are struggling with fitness, and the silence in grounds might be one of the causes for the high variance in scores across the games so far. This is a league that can be won by a side that is able to provide consistent results.

While United will be happy with their league position, they can't claim to be anywhere close to consistent. They have just two home wins, and their away record would be far more impressive if they didn’t keep coming from behind to triumph. Yes, it shows spirit and determination to pull off a comeback, but to be dead-behind-the-eyes efficient when it comes to victory saves both mental and physical energy when it is required in the season’s run-in.

At the heart of this vulnerability is the simple fact that at least three, and possibly all five, of United’s current first team defence, are not good enough. David de Gea has improved from his alarmingly dreadful state last season, and his elastic legs were handy against Leeds, but he has never been an imposing figure and continues to make mistakes this term.

Ahead of him, Harry Maguire was acceptable against Leeds, with a couple of late interventions keeping the away team at bay. But his partner Victor Lindelof was again unable to track the ball when it was near him, which is a drawback for a professional footballer. On the flanks, it was worse. Aaron Wan-Bissaka displays shades of early Gary Neville, and not in a good way. While Neville dramatically improved over the course of his career, it took him many seasons to reliably understand positioning to be aware of the offside rule, and Wan-Bissaka also regularly fails to track runs at the back post. He started last season with a remarkable aptitude for tackling, but other teams have negated that by noticing he will often not get close enough to them for that to matter.

On the left, it’s even more worrying. Alex Telles is plainly a superior player, but instead, Solskjaer persists with Luke Shaw on the left. He appears still to be unfit, which is a remarkable achievement for a professional sportsman. He also passed straight to the opposition and could have been responsible for a conceded goal, with only fortune saving him from further embarrassment. Shaw does not have the temperament to be part of a serious defence and there is a credible argument he does not have the temperament to be a footballer at this level.

Leeds scored twice, but it could have been more. Patrick Bamford shot wide, Raphinha went close with two volleys, and the United defence appeared to do their best to make the game a tight affair despite their colleagues excelling in attack and putting six away. In tighter matches that will cost them, and it has on many occasions already this season.

While blame lies with the players for their own calamities, the failure of Solskjaer to coach any notable improvement in the defence means it is his ultimate responsibility when the team suffers on the pitch. The solution for United is not to look at the brains trust of Mike Phelan and Michael Carrick, it is to get in a perceptive and intelligent coach to work on the back line. That seems unlikely to happen, meaning the only other solution is to go back into the transfer market once again.

Ben White is one player who is potentially available, and with the coronavirus hitting club finances across Europe there may be other bargains, such as Dayot Upamecano. If Ed Woodward can find the money, there are simple improvements to be made at the back. If those ahead of them could trust the defence, the club would be even more dangerous. Not just that, they would psychologically be calmer on the pitch, knowing that three points could be won without heroics, and instead by doing their job.

A 6-2 win should be a cause for celebration. It is an indictment of the current United that the performance instead predominantly gives rise to more worry.