Manchester United are a team of younger, lesser players. And after being beaten by average Chelsea, GRAEME SOUNESS asks: Which United will turn up against Liverpool?

You saw Manchester United’s season distilled in 90+ minutes at Chelsea on Thursday night. Hopeless. Fabulous. Agonising.

That’s been their season in microcosm and it’s what you get with the kind of modest players that team have on their books. They show glimpses to get you excited and then have you in despair. Their supporters have left some games this year thinking: ’How bad are we?’ and others thinking, ‘We’re back!’

Just as we saw when they were spirited and enjoyed their luck to beat Liverpool in the FA Cup last month, United showed resilience and fighting spirit to come back into the game at Stamford Bridge. 

And then they blew it big time, with a mixture of poor play and the inconsistency you get with less capable players. They had people just not doing basics in the last part of the game.

It was a classic case of how a group of young and lesser players will lose their concentration when they get physically tired. When you get older, you can hold onto that concentration longer but when you are young or less capable, you lose it and you are drifting in your head.

And saying all that about United, I thought Chelsea were average as well, on the night. Two of the three goals they conceded were certainly avoidable. The midfield and the two centre backs, Axel Disasi and Benoît Badiashile, are a country mile off where they need to be if Chelsea want to get back challenging for the big trophies.

And which United will turn up against Liverpool on Sunday? It’s anyone’s guess.