Manchester United are through to the fourth round of FA Cup, following their 2-0 win against Wigan Athletic on Monday night at the DW Stadium. A comfortable victory in a match completely dominated by Erik Ten Hag’s side was exactly what the Devils needed from their opening match of 2024.
Diogo Dalot scored the opener midway through the first half, while Bruno Fernandes confirmed the win with a goal from the penalty spot with some 15 minutes to go. Here is what we learned from this match.
United Dominate For 90 Minutes
It was expected Manchester United would dominate, but when Ten Hag chose his strongest 11, especially in terms of the front four, then it became apparent what kind of match awaits us. And United did what they were expected to do – they had 67 per cent of the ball possession and more importantly, they made 33 shots, 14 of which went on target. They were constantly pressuring Wigan and not once did they allow the hosts to make some kind of an unexpected surprise. That is unlike many of United’s matches this season, granted, this was a League One opposition after all.
Dalot Does A Great Job
Man United got into lead after 22 minutes when Diogo Dalot scored the opener, following Marcus Rashford’s opportunity. The Portuguese opened the scoring and played a great match at left-back. He complemented Rashford well and the two worked nicely on that flank, constantly making Wigan struggle. This match also highlighted using Dalot at left-back works best against sides that are not going to be giving him too much defensive troubles, as the Portuguese’s performance against Nottingham Forest was quite different, mostly thanks to Anthony Elanga’s spirited outing against his former team.
Mainoo Shows His Potential Again
So many times this season, Kobbie Mainoo was the player Man United fans praised for his performances and that is going to be the case after this match again. While Scott McTominay did not enjoy his best game next to him, Mainoo was the one covering for him and bringing calmness into those important central areas of the pitch. A couple of good tackles were noticable, while he also had a good shot on goal from the edge of the penalty area, but was unlucky not to score. Matches like this are crucial for Mainoo to play and we could be seeing him soon playing even more regularly.
Devils Get Another Good Draw
Man United were lucky to get an easier draw in the third round, which they got the best out of, getting to the next round without much energy spent. That is why it is great news United got another good draw, for the fourth round.
Ten Hag’s team is set to face one of Newport County from League Two and Eastleigh of National League, as the two sides will play a replay following their 1-1 draw in Wales. United will be playing away on the weekend of 27 January, so this should be another easy match for the Devils in a month where the only real test will be Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
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