After Manchester United dominated Arsenal, but ended up with just a draw Manager Jose Mourinho said he might have “the unluckiest team in the Premier League.”
Following a Red Devils domination of West Ham United, which again only yielded a draw and one point instead of three, Paul Pogba spoke of the team potentially feeling that they’re “cursed.”
“We’re going to start to think we’re cursed,” Pogba told SFR Sport. “It doesn’t matter which team comes here, we dominate them, be it Arsenal or West Ham today. Our luck will change at one time or another, and it’s then that we’ll have to take it.”
“I’m still confident because we create chances. It’ll come. I’m confident in my team. We just have to pay attention to the small details. Today we conceded a daft goal, against Arsenal it was also the small details. I’m still confident, it’ll come right. We are dropping silly points, but it’ll come right,” the world’s most expensive player concluded.
Pogba, like Mourinho before him are correct, in some ways. United have had some bad luck.
The team has now failed to achieve a win in four consecutive league games at Old Trafford. This is the first time this has happened since Feb 1990. The Red Devils’ four consecutive home draws is an event that hasn’t occurred since 1980. However, you also make your own luck too. You are your record, and United now have their worst start ever, through the first 13 games, in the history of the Premier League.
The longer United go without winning the worse the “curses” and “unlucky” idea will grow. You can look at storied, beloved franchises like the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs and see examples of “curses” taking hold for prolonged periods of time.
The real culprit here is United’s inability to finish. They need to be more clinical. Pogba and company again owned the stat sheet.
Over the Hammers, United won possession 68%-32%, shots on goal 8-2 and total shots 17-6.
However, they only tied on the one stat that truly matters- total goals.
Paul M. Banks runsย The Sports Bank.net, partnered withย FOX Sports Engage Network.ย andย News Now.ย Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEyeย publication and Bold Global.
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