Manchester United set up a final-day decider with a routine 3-0 victory over Moldova’s FC Sheriff at Old Trafford.
Goals from Diogo Dalot, Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo gave the Reds a comfortable victory against a team that had clearly come for a 0-0, and Erik ten Hag was pleased with the result and performance. He highlighted young left winger Alejandro Garnacho, who was making his first senior start for the club.
“It was a good win, we created chances to score more goals, and what’s good is we played in the opponent’s half and we stayed there. We were well-organised, we didn’t concede counters, they [only] had one shot. I’m happy [with scoring from a corner] and the second and third were really well-taken goals.
“[Garnacho] deserved a chance, the last few weeks I’ve been happy with him, he’s had a better attitude than in the first few weeks [of the season]; more resilient, more determination, he has the talent to deal with the ball in tight areas and to run in behind.
“He can take players on and that is a good capability in today’s football, especially against opponents that are defending very compactly. Hopefully this is a stimulant for him to do even better to get into the team
“Now we know we have to win against Sociedad with two goals difference.”
Ten Hag speaking after the match
Garnacho impresses against ultra-defensive Sheriff
Argentine teenager Garnacho was a stand-out performer.
There was a cavernous gulf in quality between the two teams, and Sheriff had obviously set up for a clean sheet and a draw; mostly having their entire team behind the ball.
Time after time Garnacho was left one-on-one against the Sheriff right back, but whereas Jadon Sancho has too often taken the easy option of playing the ball backwards this season, the Argentine wasn’t afraid to take on his man.
It didn’t work every time, but it doesn’t have to. He won fouls, set up chances and provided a constant attacking threat down United’s left-hand side.
With Jadon Sancho’s patchy form, there could be a real opportunity here for Garnacho to prise his was into the starting 11, or perhaps his form will spur Sancho on to some better performances.
Man of the Match – Christian Eriksen
Christian Eriksen was United’s best performer last night, whipping in the corner for the first goal and setting up Luke Shaw’s cross for the second. The Dane was the instigator of most of United’s attacks and, as always, was calm on the ball and positive with his forward passing.
Casemiro looked assured just behind him too, and most Reds would now probably agree that those two, along with Bruno Fernandes, are United’s best midfield line-up.
Rashford and Ronaldo back amongst the goals
For a striker, regardless of your form – goals are what you’re judged on, and both Rashford and Ronaldo have struggled of late.
They played well last night, and Ronaldo in particular could have scored more, missing a few chances and having another ruled out off offside.
Both strikers should take positives from this game, and hopefully carry that form into their next matches for the Reds.
We still believe that United’s current best starting 11 sees Rashford ahead of Ronaldo in the number 9 spot, but it’s good to see Cristiano looking happy with his team-mates and sticking the ball in the back of the net.
We know he’s here until January at the very least, and with some big games coming up before then, we’d much rather see him on Erik ten Hag’s side and available.
As an aside, it must also be said that the manager has handled the ‘Ronaldo situation’ excellently.
A final-day decider
United’s win leaves their fate in their own hands.
Real Sociedad currently have the better goal difference and are 3 points ahead of United, having won 1-0 at Old Trafford.
But in the Europa League group stages, goal difference is secondary to the head-to-head record between two teams on equal points.
Still following? Put simply – United have to win by a two goal margin against Sociedad next Thursday to win the group. Anything less and they will finish second, where they will face a side that finished third in the Champions League group stage.
This could be Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus etc. Not something we really want, especially given the fixture build-up this season.
Confidence high for another busy period
The Europa decider is sandwiched between two tricky league games (West Ham at home and Villa away), and all three games take place in the space of just 7 days.
United should go into the weekend confident of beating the Hammers, having shown tenacity and quality against Sheriff. There are five games in total before the World Cup begins, and Erik ten Hag will demand and expect his team to win them all. There were decent substitute appearances for Harry Maguire and Donny van de Beek last night too, and United’s squad depth looks to be improving.
By the time domestic football pauses, United could – and should – be in promising positions in all competitions. Erik ten Hag is sticking to his plan and getting it right.