Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has gone but his name still rings out at Old Trafford, and on this occasion, with a thrown-together collection of kids and occasionals, Manchester United performed as if he were was still leading the team.
Since there was nil jeopardy in the fixture you could understand the rationale behind Ralf Rangnick’s selection, which featured eleven changes backed by the school first XI on the bench. You could say United were paying tribute to their opponents, Young Boys. Paradoxically, the Swiss ensemble were replete with muscular types determined to smash the makeshift unit out of their stride.
If it looked a bit dads vs lads when Young Boys bounced the likes of Amad Diallo and Anthony Elanga out of early tackles, United at least started with enough old heads to offer a semblance of reassurance. Though this was a chance for Ralf Rangnick to measure squad depth and for the overlooked in the group to make their case, he would have learned as much by watching Solskjaer’s low lights reel.
Principally this was an invite to the likes of Donny van de Beek, Jesse Lingard, Eric Bailly and Dean Henderson to pull fingers out (is there an equivalent phrase in German?), less so Juan Mata and Mason Greenwood for different reasons.
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Greenwood did exactly that with a goal inside nine minutes, a stunning near-post volley from Luke Shaw’s cross. It proved the prelude to an entertaining 45 minutes during which United might have added two more. Amad got tangled up in his own quick feet after doing the hard work and Mata saw his shot deflected wide.
Rangnick was given his first real taste of Solskjaer’s United minutes before the break. Casual in possession on the edge of the box, Van de Beek tried one nonchalant pass too many. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was slow to react, allowing Fabian Rieder to nick the ball and bend a beauty around Henderson’s outstretched arm. For good measure Matic repeated the dose in the final attack of the half, needlessly conceding possession in his own half and requiring a ricochet off Bailly to spare his embarrassment.
Van de Beek, Wan-Bissaka, Matic, Bailly, the far from fab-four highlighting in real time just how much work lies ahead for Rangnick. Elanga missed two chances to reinstate United’s lead early in the second half, the second with only the goalkeeper to beat. By then the momentum was shifting. Rangnick’s unfamiliar side was running out of energy and the experience of Young Boys beginning to tell.
On the hour, Young Boys introduced three players who started the first group game in Bern. United brought on Teden Mengi, Shola Shoretire and Tom Heaton for his Manchester United debut. Rangnick did not need to be the father of the gegenpress to recognise how hard he had made it for his team.
There was a nice moment in the closing minutes when 18-year-old Charlie Savage went one better than his father Robbie, making a first team appearance for United as replacement for Mata. Savage senior welcomed junior on to the pitch from the BT Sport commentary box. Cue lump in the throat.
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- Henderson – 7
- Wan-Bissaka – 6
- Bailly – 8
- Matic – 7
- Shaw – 7
- Van de Beek – 6
- Diallo – 7
- Mata – 7
- Lingard – 6
- Greenwood – 8
- Elanga – 6
Substitutes:
- Mengi – 7
- Shoretire – 6
- Heaton – 7
- Iqbal – N/A
- Savage – 7
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/31Msx5B
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