Manchester United Fan View: Three players that need to do much better after the international break

During the international break, many would have expected manager Jose Mourinho to review what has caused Manchester United’s misery this season.

Following the club’s departure from the Champions League, the team simply does not have much to play for as the 2017/18 campaign will be ending in just under two months’ time.

A second-place finish and FA Cup success, though, would show that the club are progressing well.

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And if they are aiming to make this happen, the manager and players will need to wake up and show some fighting spirit, which is something that is lacking at the moment.

Keeping the focus on the players, here are the three individuals that need to improve vastly.

Alexis Sanchez

When Alexis Sanchez’s move from Arsenal to Manchester United became official, many of the Red Devil supporters were in total delight as a straight swap deal saw out-of-form Henrikh Mkhitaryan going the other away.

However, the expectations of the marquee signing and the actual reality have been totally different, where the Chilean international is yet to get into his world-class groove.

Nevertheless, things can change around for the player once a consistent selection is placed on the pitch alongside an ideal system that suits the key stars.

Without a doubt, the former Arsenal and Barcelona forward is going through a rough patch alongside many other players, but his mentality of staying at the top level will ensure that he will only go on to succeed during his time at Old Trafford.

Chris Smalling

Manchester United are still surprisingly having a lot of issues within the backline, especially in the centre-back and left-back department, where the roles in these positions have not convincingly been taking by any of the players in the squad. This has resulted in more work and pressure on David De Gea, who has confidently been saving the side from any embarrassing defeats in recent years.

The English press have constantly produced reports on the fact that United are in need of a new defenders in the summer. Until then, one of the existing men needs to show up and that man has to be Chris Smalling, an individual who has a lot of experience but is still regarded as an average centre-back that simply cannot intercept or tackle the ball effectively without making a foul.

Paul Pogba

The third and final individual that needs to take his game to the next level is central-midfielder Paul Pogba. In his second season under Jose Mourinho, the 25-year-old has had had a tough couple of months, from reportedly falling out with the manager to being benched in place of Scott McTominay. At the end of the day, an ego clash between two very important people does not reflect well on the club.

There’s no doubt that Pogba is a talented player and is regarded as one of the best box-to-box midfielders within the world, however, his lack of positional awareness and defensive discipline has not allowed him to succeed in Mourinho’s 4-2-3-1 setup.

It’s never easy to thrive in a limited and rigid system under a defensive-minded coach, but Pogba just needs to play his football simple and straightforward for the remainder of the season.