Last night, Manchester United made up for their recent poor performances with a relatively comfortable win against Burnley. Here are five things that we learnt.
Luke Shaw looking better
In last night’s game, Luke Shaw looked something like the player we saw last season. That was hands down is his best performance so far this season. Granted Burnley didn’t challenge too much down his side. But what defensive duties he did have were completed relatively successfully, which is more than can be said for his previous performances this season.
Going forward he looked really sharp. He had some strong link-ups with Jadon Sancho when he was on the left. One of the ones that stands out particularly being their link-up in the build-up to United’s second goal. Shaw was also making some great runs to progress the ball through the thirds. One of those that stands out was in the first half when we won the ball in his half. He dribbled through to the edge of the box and took a shot which troubled the keeper. Shaw also created a few chances from deep. There was one ball over the top to Ronaldo which could have led to a goal. Overall, he put in a really strong performance after a sizeable absence from the side. He definitely gave Rangnick something to think about.
McTominay Man of the Match
After some subpar performances from Scott McTominay in recent weeks, last night he looked really solid. Aside from the obvious with the goal involvements his whole game looked much better. I don’t know if being alongside the more experienced and composed Matic, rather than the more erratic Fred, made much of a difference. But his ball retention was great. He was getting in the right positions. He was progressing the ball well up the pitch. His whole game just looked so much better.
And then obviously being directly involved in two goals always helps your performance stand out. The finish on McTominay’s goal was fantastic. I don’t think Ronaldo was too happy to have the shot taken away from him. But the composure and precision of the finish was brilliant. And then the shot that rebounded of the keeper for Ronaldo to slot into the net was also excellent. We know that Scott is capable of getting goals. But it’s always great for a player who has been struggling to have a good performance backed up with a goal, and an assist no less. A well deserved man of the match award for Scott McTominay.
Sancho has to start regularly
Again Jadon Sancho looked brilliant last night. I thought he was unlucky to not walk away from the match with the goal to his name. But that’s by the by really, his overall performance was fantastic. He has been putting in performances that have looked better and better. And now he is really starting to look like the player we all knew he could be when he signed in the summer. He was one of our most creative outlets on the pitch last night. He drove at the goal really well. His link-up play with Luke Shaw was getting stronger.
Right now I think he is our best player at going past a defender. Previously you’d have said Marcus Rashford but at the moment Marcus is in quite a large rough patch. With Sancho you’ve got the bonus of once he’s beaten a man he can find that perfect pass to the likes of Cavani or Ronaldo. Or he can get a shot off himself, like he did for United’s second goal. I think going forward he has to be one of the first names on the team-sheet.
Defensive worries persist
Despite what was a seemingly comfortable win for Manchester United, there were a few troubling moments. The Burnley goal obviously being the main one. Here Eric Bailly took a poor first touch. Aaron Lennon then pounced on the loose ball and glanced it past both Maguire and de Gea. Granted it was a good finish from Lennon. But it seemed like the United players just switched off in the build-up to that goal. This is something that needs to change, because against stronger opposition we aren’t going to have the safety net of being 3-0 up when that lapse in concentration occurs. Burnley also had a few strong chances that if their players were more clinical probably could’ve led to goals. As well as that, Aaron Wan-Bissaka looked quite shaky at times in terms of his pass completion that is. So there are definitely still areas to improve on.
Job Done
With all that being said, the main things that we wanted to see last night, were some fight back from the poor performance against Newcastle and three points. And we got both of those things. In the grand scheme of things that was a pretty calm match. We scored early, got a second and a third, somehow allowed them a glimmer of hope by conceding but then a fairly uneventful second half followed. And whilst that might be boring, and it would’ve been better to see a 4th or even a 5th goal, it was what we needed. Too many times we were coming across teams that we should be beating comfortably. And then not doing that. Last night was not a game that is going to be remembered for years to come. But what it was, was a professional performance and a much needed three points. Hopefully this can give us a confidence boost into the New Year and through to the end of the season.