Manchester United bounced back (sort of) from the Fulham defeat with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at the City Ground.
A close game with plenty of chances was decided in the 89th minute by a stooping Casemiro header from a low Bruno Fernandes free-kick. After a 5-minute VAR check the goal was confirmed and the travelling Reds got to celebrate all over again.
The quarter-final draw had already taken place and United knew they were likely to face old enemies Liverpool at Old Trafford with a win.
Erik Ten Hag was pleased with the work rate, chances created control and spirit of the team, especially in the second half, given United’s lack of defensive options.
“It was hard to line up defensively, finally we found the right formation and organisation; we needed some time to find our rhythm. [In the] first half we created very good chances but allowed them some counters, as well as at the start of the second half.
After that we were more calm composed; we kept the ball longer and played good switches. We didn’t allow counter-attacks and I’m very pleased with the second half especially, but most of all I’m pleased with the desire and spirit of the team; this must be always the standard.”
Ten Hag in his post-match press conference
Chances created, but chances wasted
United and Forest had 36 shots on target (20 for United) and 12 shots on target (7 for United), and it was a bit of a miracle that the games remained goalless for so long.
Antony hit the bar, McTominay had a couple of headers saved, Rashford missed a late chance – the opportunities were there but United just didn’t take them. Andre Onana made a string of excellent first-half saves to keep the game level too.
With Manchester City away at the weekend, United really do need to be more clinical in front of goal. Rasmus Hojlund has been sorely missed in our last two matches and Marcus Rashford turned in his usual 4/10 centre forward performance.
Is it time to try someone else at number 9? Is it just me or would Scott McTominay make sense here??
Refereeing double standards
It should be no surprise to anyone to see United get shafted by a poor refereeing decision.
Late on in the game, Nottingham Forest’s Felipe got involved in a scuffle with Bruno Fernandes and clearly grabbed the Portugese around the throat.
Think back to Casemiro’s straight red card for doing something similar to Crystal Palace’s Will Hughes last season. Whether you agree with the decision or not, there simply has to be consistency. Even if the referee misses it, he FA has people whose job is solely to look at VAR and make decisions – there is no excuse whatsoever for mistakes of this magnitude.
As it happens, it didn’t cost United, but a similar gaff very well could in the future.
And talking of VAR – is 5 minutes necessary to check an offside?? It’s getting boring now and starting to ruin big moments in games – sort it out!
Spot the difference: one of these is a straight red and one is a telling off
Player ratings & MOTM
Onana – 8 & MOTM. A really assured performance and made a string of crucial saves.
Dalot – 7. Did well against es-Red Elanga and put in a couple of excellent crosses for Scott McTominay.
Varane – 6. Solid defensively, but had some trouble playing out from the back at times.
Lindelof – 6.5. Made his fair share of blocks and clearances – looks so much more confident here than at full-back.
Amrabat – 6. Deputised at left-back reasonably well in the absence of Shaw. Played some decent cross-field switches but did struggle with Divock Origi on occasion.
McTominay – 6. Industrious and positive as always but really should have opened the scoring with his first big headed chance. The second was thwarted by a fantastic save. Erik – play him up top!
Casemiro – 7. Looked better than in recent weeks and brought more control to the midfield, and got attacks going in the second half. Popped up with the winner on 89′.
Fernandes – 6. A slight improvement on recent weeks and was involved in some of United’s dangerous moments. Set up Casemiro for the goal.
Antony – 6. Hit the bar in the first half and had some moments but still doesn’t look to have the beating of his man regularly, in the way that Alejandro Garnacho often does. Brought off half way through the second half
Garnacho – 6. Didn’t get much going in the first half but improved after half-time and contributed to attacks.
Rashford – 4. The expected Rashford-at-number-9 performance. Offered little, can’t hold the ball up, poor body language etc etc. Surely it’s time to give someone else a go here or switch up the formation with a false 9? Rashford isn’t the answer.
Subs:
Diallo (on for Antony on 73′) – 5. Did little of note, mishit a decent chance.
Evans (on for Amrabat on 94′) – N/A.
Mainoo (on for McTominay on 94′) – N/A.
Looking ahead
Unfortunately, United play City away on Sunday, right when our injury crisis seems to have peaked. It will be a makeshift back 4 and frontline, with only really our midfield at full strength.
Let’s not kid ourselves, it’s going to be very, very difficult to get a result at the Etihad, and it’s probably best to not expect too much from the game. A good, battling performance we can at least be proud of would be good, but keeping City out seems almost impossible at the moment.
