Manchester United 4-1 Istanbul Basaksehir: Four Things We Learned

Manchester United are back in the Champions League and they are backing to their best selves. The Red Devils eased they way past Istanbul Basaksehir at Old Trafford, hammering them 4-1 in a performance many have expected to come three weeks ago in Turkey. Nevertheless, this was a performance which showed the Devils are the better team and that they are putting themselves in a good position ahead of two crucial matches against Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig in the next two weeks.

Three goals came inside of the opening 35 minutes, with Bruno Fernandes first scoring a brace which included a beautiful, powerful opener, before Marcus Rashford scored from the penalty. Deniz Turuc managed to get one back for Istanbul Basaksehir with quarter of an hour left, while Daniel James rounded the victory off with a late goal to make it 4-1.

Here is what we learned.

Man United Win The Way They Should

This was a performance deserving of Manchester United. When playing against a Champions League debutant with a clearly worse team then yours, this is how those matches should be decided. Man United started off strongly, showing they want to make things right after that loss in Istanbul and that consisent pressure brought results almost immediately. Man United put in a performance that not only gave them an early 3-0 loss, but also, the chance for the players to not have to lose too much energy throughout the match.

Bruno Fernandes Keeps Shining

What can we say more about Bruno Fernandes? The Portuguese maestro was once again shining bright. He scored the opening two goals which gave a very calm game to his team, but those two goals came in very differing ways. The first one was a brilliant, strong rocket of a shot after one deflected ball came his way, before he then scored one of those easiest goals from five yards out, poking the ball into the net. Fernandes was once again in every move of his trying to produce something good for the team and that paid off for a couple of decent chances the Devils also had.

Solskjaer Uses New Signings

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided to make some changes in his starting lineup and we had seen three of his new signings all start. Alex Telles was good at left-back once again, slowly getting into good rhythm at the new club, while Donny van de Beek controled the midfield both tactically and technically from the central position. He played alongside Fred, while Edinson Cavani’s start at centre-forward needed for both Rashford and Martial to take up the wings. Not only did Solskjaer use his new signings wisely, but he also used some of the more fringe players as substitutions, including goalscorer Dan James, Brendon Williams and Axel Tuanzebe.

There Is Something About European Nights

Manchester United have played eight matches in the Premier League, scoring 13 goals in the process. But in just four Champions League appearances, United have scored 12. That is a stark difference and it seems as if there is something about European nights this season which makes the Devils tick. Hopefully we will get to see more of that during weekends.

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