Good first half with several solid performances. Special mention to McTominay, Shaw and the forgotten man Fosu-Mensah. Could he actually be an option at center back?
McTominay´s absence in the second half was noticeable, as we lost a bit of control in the midfield. Galbraith looked not quite ready for this level.
van de Beek had a careful start of the game, but got better as the game went on. United´s best player in the second half.
.....Rashford still looking not at his best, and Maguire was pretty bad. Not much to applaud Dalot for either......
We played some lovely stuff in first half but once Scott went off, we just never got going in 2nd.
I know its a friendly but if we get Sancho, its not Greenwood who is in danger of losing his place, its Rashford. Same mistakes like he has been doing since restart and didnt have a good game at all.
I've said this for a while. Rashford is under threat from Greenwood coming through.....
Only a few people mentioning Scott McTominay‘s performance in the first half, where he played very well and was the main reason we dominated the midfield. It was a good pairing with Donny alongside, who started off quietly, but gradually became more confident with his new team mates as the game went on.
Apart from conceding the goal, which came out of the blue, the first half was a totally one sided affair with the reds in complete control.
Once McTominay went off at half time, it all fell apart for Utd and we struggled for the first 15 or 20 mins of the second half, until Mengi came on and Ole pushed TFM into midfield alongside Galbraith, with Donny taking a more AM role.
Despite initial nerves and getting hassled off the ball early in the 2nd, I thought Galbraith grew into the role and got better. Clearly he’s not ready and is physically way off, but I thought he played well in the circumstances and looks a real future prospect.
A good game for Shaw, particularly in the first half. He was almost back to his best early on and he needed those minutes coming back from injury.
I hate to say it, but surprisingly it was a good game for Lingard, who was a totally different player from what we usually see, particularly in the first half and later on in the 2nd. I still think we should get rid and like most of the caff, think he’s a waste of space, but credit where it’s due, he put a rare shift in.
The real concern is Rashford. He started off reasonably well, but it didn’t last long and overall he was our worst player on the pitch yesterday.
OK, he was playing in an unfamiliar, deeper and more central role, but he still shows poor decision making, a poor first touch and his off the ball movement and positioning is awful. We lost possession a few times when he lost the ball or made a poor pass.
Many were putting his recent poor performances down to coming back from injury and not being 100% fit, but he‘s showed similar weaknesses when he was in form. Sadly, I just don’t think he’s ever going to be more than what we’ve seen so far.
I agree with others, it’s Rashford’s place in the team that could be in jeopardy if we bring in someone like Sancho, or a new striker.
