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THEGunnar Solskjær goes on to say that having too many good players to use all at once is a sign of Manchester United’s position and ambition, and perhaps to prove it he left out Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes against RB Leipzig.
It was quite an important decision against an undefeated team at the top of the Bundesliga. Rashford may have been making most of his headlines off the pitch in recent weeks and Fernandes has become a member of a fairly crowded selection panel for midfield, but both are United’s top scorers this season.
Rashford’s break left United with just Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood in front, almost a return to a 4-4-2 formation, except that neither forward attack option worked as a central lead in front of goal.
Fernandes resting allowed Solskjær to give Donny van de Beek some time on the field, the virtual invisibility of the former Ajax player in Premier League games drew comment and criticism after a £ 35 million transfer, but without the energy. and the invention of the Portugal international behind the two forwards. United began to look conservative and strangely harmless.
Paul Scholes, working as an expert and putting his finger on the point as usual, said it looked like they were playing away from home. True, but without the regular 75,000 viewers offering partisan encouragement and fervor, is the home advantage already relevant?
Leipzig, for the same reason, were supposed to play away from home, but an empty Old Trafford is not the complete European experience. Not so much Theater of Dreams as undercooked cauldron of caution. By far the most stylish of the German team was the excessively noisy jacket worn by their coach Julian Nagelsmann, a striped acid blue number that was practically alone among the visitors shining under the lights.
It should be remembered that José Mourinho first made a name for himself by drawing attention to celebrating a Porto win at this stadium, although even the soon-to-be special was dressed more demurely in a dark blue coat.
On the field, Van de Beek was orderly and efficient without suggesting that he deserves a regular spot ahead of Paul Pogba or Nemanja Matic. At least they held him back when the latter pulled out after an hour, but only to appreciate that he also faces competition from Fred and Scott McTominay. As Solskjær continues to emphasize, he is not short of options in midfield, and questions about where Van de Beek would fit in arose when he signed, not simply after a few weeks of bench warming.
The consensus in the summer was that Van de Beek was a signing for the future, possibly insurance against Pogba’s departure at some point, although until Fernandes arrived with 20 minutes remaining, there was no question that Pogba was the one. most influential group of local midfielders. .
Greenwood’s shot for the first goal was characteristically sharp and accurate, but the ball at his feet from Pogba was what separated the visiting defense. Pogba nearly did it again in the second half with an imaginative pass that invited Martial to break his goal drought, only to find his French international teammate was unable to call a shot to match Greenwood’s.
In all likelihood, one goal would have been enough for United, Leipzig never seemed to agree again, even after bringing in a couple of substitutes in attack, but in other bad news for Van de Beek, their coach sent Fernandes out first. and then to Rashford for the last stages.
He had only been on the pitch for a few minutes when Fernandes found him with an instinctive pass into space, one that Rashford not only picked up but wisely went on to save, important when the VAR overruled the assistant referee who couldn’t see he was still . in his own half when the ball was played.
In a matter of minutes, Rashford would again strike flawlessly as Fred won the ball outside the Leipzig area, then magnanimously avoided the possibility of a hat-trick by allowing Martial to claim a goal from the penalty spot. No problem, the forward was able to jump back into injury time, showing that he is not only a hero for our times with levels of confidence bordering on the stratospheric, but he can do a decent impersonation of what his coach used to do. to back up. The day.
Rashford’s emphatic contribution after entering the fray in the 62nd minute suggested that Solskjær knew exactly what he had in store, and while the United manager has not had his way in the Premier League so far, in Europe it is impossible. argue with another win. in Paris followed by a seasoned 5-0 on the form side in the Bundesliga.
Solskjær’s stock is on the rise again, while long before the end, Nagelsmann could be seen trying to hide his headlamp from a jacket behind the bricks of the visitors’ dugout.
