Michael Carrick is bang on message. And not just with his threads. In this world of the multi-dimensional player, Carrick unveiled Jadon Sancho as a supplementary workhorse without diminishing his attacking brio.
Playing in front of Aaron Wan-Bissaka demands a lot of any team-mate. Sancho took to his labours like a ploughman, tirelessly at the service of United’s right side. For most of the match against Villarreal this meant plugging gaps and doubling up on Arnaut Danjuma.
There were moments of free-styling in the opening half, more than once delighting in a dummy thrown and a sharp change of direction. It was in the second half following the introduction of Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford that Sancho revealed why he might just be worth the £73m shelled out to import him from Dortmund.
The goal, rattled in at pace off the underside of the bar, was self-evidently sexy. The jinking run following a delicious exchange with Fernandes was positively X-rated, or it would have been had the keeper not spoiled the ending with an instinctive save.
It was in that passage as much as his first strike for the club that Sancho trailed his potential. Whilst Carrick is right to laud Sancho’s defensive disciplines, United did not pay a lump for his tracking back. They bought him to take it to the opposition, to make defenders shiver, to tear big holes in well-drilled formations, to drive United into the next dimension.
Baby steps. It’s Chelsea next, a team coached by a guru who has inverted the Sancho experience by making wingers of full-backs. Under Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea do not appear to have a weakness and are incrementally adding a thirst for goals to their appetite for bagels.
How to watch Chelsea vs Man Utd
- Date: Sunday 28 November
- Kick-off time: 4.30pm
- TV channel: Sky Sports Main Event
- Live stream: Sky Go or NOW
- Highlights: Match of the Day 2 (10.30pm on BBC One)
United cannot hope to survive at Stamford Bridge playing as poorly as they did in the first half at Villarreal. Neither can we expect Carrick to send out his team on the front foot. For now Sancho’s first duty will continue be to aid Wan-Bissaka in shutting down Chelsea’s left side. Only if United piece together coherent resistance will we see more of the Sancho that torpedoed the yellow submarine.
As is customary, Sancho (or someone on his behalf) tweeted his delight at the outcome and his goal. Whether he was the author or not, the goal and the performance was authentic enough. As Carrick said, he has the talent to dominate any stage. What better place to start than against the Premier League leaders on their own manor?
United are, of course, still in a delicate place. A concerted push by Villarreal would have had them over. It took another half dozen items from the David De Gea showreel to keep the scores level, none more important than the save shortly before United opened the scoring. A breach then might have brought the roof in again.
If Carrick was justified in starting Donny van de Beek and Anthony Martial in Spain he will find few dissenters should he reinstate Fernandes and Marcus Rashford from the off at Stamford Bridge. Yes both were poor against Watford, but against Villarreal they made the difference, Fernandes linking the play and Rashford terrorising with his pace.
Solskjaer flogged both, which contributed to his downfall. Getting the best out of Fernandes, Rashford and Sancho is central no matter who is in charge. At their best they are capable of taking the game away from any opposition and have shown that on occasion. If dropping Fernandes and Rashford was Carrick’s way of bringing them to attention it had the desired effect. Only their best is good enough.
There will always be talk about building for the future. Carrick will know that there is only the present in this business. Tuesday’s triumph will count for little should United fall in the capital. As the winning coach he was able to sell the idea of a plan coming together in Villarreal when for much of the evening it was same old, same old.
Still, the suit was new and deserves at least one more outing.
What did Carrick change against Villarreal?
By Evan Bartlett
While given little more than 48 hours to prepare for the Villarreal game following Solskjaer’s sacking, caretaker manager Michael Carrick did stamp his authority on the United team by dropping Fernandes from the starting XI.
The Portuguese playmaker was so often the talisman under Solskjaer but has been desperately out of form this year, going 13 matches without scoring.
In his place came Van de Beek, a man persistently overlooked by the previous manager but who did impress after coming off the bench against Watford at the weekend, for just his third start of the season.
Aside from that, Carrick made few other changes on paper, but there were subtle tweaks out on the pitch.
United’s teamsheet showed a familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, with Fred and McTominay paired in midfield and Martial and Sancho working either side of Ronaldo up front.
In reality, however, Ronaldo and Martial worked in a pair when United were out of posession with Sancho dropping onto the right side of a midfield diamond, Fred pushing left and McTominay sitting. With the ball, the shape was more fluid, with Ronaldo, Van de Beek and Martial often swapping positions.
While the attack didn’t quite fire early they did at least look more compact, perhaps crucially for a team that has conceded so many this season.
Carrick appeared to have told his defenders to concentrate on their defending first and foremost, with all four rarely venturing too far out of their own half.
Most pleasing of all for the caretaker boss will have been the impact his in-game substitutions made. United looked far sharper once Fernandes and Rashford came off the bench, with the two forward players inspiring a morale-boosting win ahead of a daunting visit to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Man Utd team vs Chelsea prediction
With Maguire suspended following his red card against Watford, Eric Bailly is expected to partner Victor Lindelof at the heart of defence.
Luke Shaw’s ongoing concussion problem means Alex Telles could stay at left-back, while Fernandes and Rashford look likely to replace the disappointing Van de Beek and Martial.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3HNKQIn
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