Two matches for Manchester United this week and two wins without a conceded goal. Following the win against Brentford, Manchester United defeated Everton 2-0 on early Saturday kick-off, thanks to the goals from Scott McTominay and Anthony Martial. It was the Scot who opened the scoring after 36 minutes, following Jadon Sancho’s assist. Anthony Martial sealed the deal after 71 minutes, although the Devils had plenty of opportunities to score more and get an even more comfortable result. Here is what we learned from the match at Old Trafford.
United Could Have Scored More
While there have been plenty of matches this season where Man United played more of a counter-attacking football, waiting for opponents to make mistakes, this performance was a stark contrast. It was also the case against Brentford – United dominated in possession and tried to be in control of everything happening on the pitch. That was the case, indeed, with the Devils creating chance after chance. In fact, a 2-0 win, as much as it was comfortable, could have been more dominant in terms of goals scored. Statistically, United missed seven big chances in these 90 minutes, showing just how poor Everton were. Still, no one will complain too much about this right now.
Fernandes Enjoys His New Role
Erik Ten Hag seems to enjoy exploring new roles for his players and the one he found for Bruno Fernandes is something the Portuguese star seems to enjoy himself. Fernandes was once again withdrawn from the number 10 role to the central midfield role alongside Scott McTominay, with Marcel Sabitzer moved forward in his place. Bruno’s extra space and time on the ball resulted in United being able to dominate in possession more than usual and he even created two chances for his teammates in the process.
Rashford Injury A Worry
Manchester United added Wout Weghorst in the January transfer window on loan, to improve options in attack, but, expectedly, the Burnley striker was simply not good enough on a regular basis to remain the first choice striker. This resulted in Marcus Rashford moving forward from the left wing, taking up his place, but now his injury will further worry Ten Hag and United. Rashford is playing the best season of his career, but now his injury scare could complicate things for Devils.
Martial Scores Once More
If that is gong to happen, we are yet to see it, because Rashford’s replacement will probably Anthony Martial, who scored once again. It seems that the Frenchman is slowly getting back into form, as he added the second goal of the day, following Rashford’s assist. Martial needed just 10 minutes after coming on to put the ball into the net, but now with Rashford potentially missing the Sevilla game in Europa League, the expectations on him will further grow. United’s squad this season is thin with options and Ten Hag will not be able to tinker too much about this.
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