In the Red Corner is a weekly column by our Premier League contributor David Menon.

There are two ways to look at United’s 1-1 draw at home against Stoke City. You can adopt the glass half full approach and look at the positives (there were some and I’ll talk about them later). Or, like me, you can see the glass as half empty because when I’m having a drink, at home, against an out-of-form club at the bottom of the table, I expect the cup to runneth over.

The Negatives

The biggest negative has to be dropping 2 eminently winnable points. Going into this fixture, United had the wind in their sails after walloping Leicester and would have liked to build momentum before the international break. A win would have lifted United to within a point of Arsenal and Liverpool, who both showed their mettle by winning ugly over the weekend. Instead, they trail by 3.

That’s of even greater importance when you look at United’s upcoming fixture list: Liverpool (A), Fenerbahce (H), Chelsea (A), Manchester City (H). The most positive thing I can say is that at least Manchester United play Fenerbahce at home, because sandwiching a trip to Turkey between a visit to our fiercest rivals and a return to Jose’s previous employers would be as bad as it gets. If United make a hash of their upcoming fixtures, they could be left behind in the title race before Halloween: a frightening thought for any Red Devil.

So how did 3 points become 1? Wasted chances is the short answer. Much has been said about Stoke’s on loan goalkeeper Lee Grant, and rightly so. He was incredible from the very start, his superlative 1st minute double save against Zlatan Ibrahimovic just the start of his personal highlight reel. It’s hard to imagine 40 year old Shay Given stopping Lingard’s point blank effort, or tipping Zlatan’s 86th minute effort around the post. Lee Grant was the difference for Stoke City. But that doesn’t entirely account for the lack of goals because United were wasteful.

Manchester United spent the first half threatening to open the floodgates and you got the sense that if 1 of the many opportunities hit the back of the net, then the dam would burst. But it didn’t, because some of the best chances weren’t even on target. Paul Pogba had the chance to cap a move that would be replayed on highlight reels time and again as marquee signing Ibrahimovic, via a delicious backheel, played in United youth product Jesse Lingard. Lingard, showing great vision to find Pogba in space and with time. But instead of making it 2 goals in 2 league games, he side footed wide when he really should have scored. And again, Pogba was guilty of profligacy when his 89th header crashed off the bar after being picked out by Rashford’s inch perfect cross. A player of Pogba’s ability could have had a hattrick on his day, and he should have come away with at least 1 goal. His poor finishing cost United dear on the day, but he wasn’t the only new addition who should have won the game. Zlatan Ibrahimovic started the game well and in addition to that wonderful 1st minute chance that he should have buried, he was frequently involved in the buildup play, setting up Lingard among others. But as the game wore on, Zlatan faded a little and you wonder if at 35, he’s still capable of playing 3 games in a week. It’d take a brave man to try and substitute Zlatan with United chasing the game but in future, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are both speedy young forwards who could be used in their preferred positions to facilitate managing the big man’s minutes.

Most didn’t believe the halftime score was 0-0 given the number of chances, and it appeared that the United players didn’t either. They started the second half sluggishly, with the faintest whiff of complacency about their pedestrian pace. Instead of pacy, attacking football, United sat back and casually rolled the ball around, an occasional half-heartedly attack aside. There is no room for complacency in this league, and there was simply no urgency to try and get a goal or two. And after substitute Martial grabbed a goal, it was unforgivable to fail to see the game out to victory. First Daley Blind miskicked under no pressure to gift Stoke possession that led to David De Gea spilling a shot when he should have done much better. More professionalism is required from a team with United’s aspirations.

The Positives

There were positives, though. United created good chances, building on last weekend’s progress against Leicester. They moved the ball well and showed a level of incision that was conspicuous by its absence in recent history. There was a desire to play a killer ball and carve open the defence, and attack directly. Mata is showing that he is a very plausible option at number 10, certainly the best option until Henrikh Mkhitaryan returns to full fitness.

On that note, Mourinho is known for having a preferred starting line up in mind and, after some early rotation, it appears that he is slowly settling on first XI, naming an unchanged lineup for the first time. Ander Herrera appears to be winning the battle against Marouane Fellaini and Morgan Schneiderlin to partner Paul Pogba in the middle of the park. I would still like to see a midfield triumvirate of Pogba, Herrera and Schneiderlin at some point, as I feel it provides defensive stability while maximising Pogba’s skill set. Martial will probably return to left wing once fully recovered from his concussion, where he will benefit from playing slightly narrower so he can attack the goal directly. And Mkhitaryan will surely be the preferred to Jesse Lingard, where fans will hope he can replicate the form he showed at Borussia Dortmund last season.

Almost without exception, United fans are thrilled to see Marcus Rashford enjoying an extended spell in the starting 11. This must be managed carefully, because United have a quality homegrown talent on their hands but he is still young, and he must be nurtured to fully maximise his potential. Recently, his minutes have come from left wing, where United seem to prefer parking promising young strikers while older warhorses take up the sole starting position up top (such as Martial-Rooney last season). This isn’t Rashford’s best position – he is a natural and potentially lethal number 9 – but its most important for him to enjoy minutes in the first team and he will no doubt hone a different set of skills by playing in a different position. One such example was his beautiful cross to pick out an unmarked Pogba. More of the same please, Marcus!

But the biggest positive for any Manchester United fan sick of perfect Pep’s perfect start has got to be Spurs’ dismantling of Manchester City in the later kickoff. Spurs were brilliant and deservedly remain the only unbeaten team in the league. This is likely to be but a brief speed bump for City, but United fans can take great pleasure from it. Spurs, meanwhile, look like genuine title contenders.

In conclusion, there are some positives for United fans to take. There was some impressive attacking play and on another day, against a less inspired goalkeeper, we won have won by a landslide. But the great goalkeeping does not account for some of the unacceptable misses and some blatant complacency. You must take your chances, but if you don’t, you cannot start the second half as if you’re two goals up. Ultimately, this result must go down as a disappointment: 3 points at home against the bottom side should be a given. United cannot be giving up points in these matches. They would have been only 3 points behind City had they held on for the win. Instead, they are 5 with a very challenging run of matches to come.

David Menon is a Premier League contributor with a weekly column on Manchester United.

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