Manchester United smashed Tottenham Hotspur in a nerve-wracking match as far as UCL qualification is concerned for both the clubs. The Portuguese veteran scored a hattrick in front of the home crowd to give his team much needed 3 points.
Here are the 5 things we learned from this match.
1. Ronaldo shined when it mattered the most for Manchester United
The first goal was simply a scorcher. He finds the back of the net with his inch-perfect shooting techniques. A clever little flick from Fred and the rest was done by Ronaldo. For the second one, Matic spotted Sancho who was well onside and then a wonderful cross to Ronaldo whose shot was well enough to beat Lloris.
While Spurs equalised in the 72′ it took him just 9′ to get his club back on the lead. Not to forget Sancho was has started to get involved in the score sheet. He has been United’s star performer in recent times.
2. The changes clicked for Rangnick.
Rangnick made 5 changes from the Manchester Derby and things have really worked for the German. United’s right-back Dalot had a good game and he plays in a much higher role than Wan-Bissaka. Ronaldo was the most notable change. Varane had a cool and composed game too. He was also involved in the buildup for the opener.
Rangnick also made two key changes in-game. He swapped Maguire and Varane’s roles in the team which improved both their performances but more importantly he swapped Fred and Matic around. In the first half, Matic struggled against Son’s pace on the counter and Fred was better suited for it. From that point, not only was Son quieter but Matic provided a wonderful pass to Sancho from the left for the second goal.
3. Rashford had the game to prove.
The English forward isn’t happy with the game time. Though he had the best chance to prove his mettle. He started for Elanga who has already been in good touch for Manchester United. If Rashford’s poor form continues for United then he will be one of the players who won’t play for Red Devils next season.
Rashford is currently playing out of his original position and that’s one of the main reasons why it’s taking longer to get back into form. Sancho can play better on the right than Rashford and the latter has good stats when playing on the right wings.
4. Harry Maguire’s dismal shows continues in the back-line.
When was the last time Maguire performed like a solid defender?. His performance is deteriorating day by day. Rangnick thought of substituting Matic with Lindelof in the latter stages of the game in order to make the defensive line stronger to back 5. But the English CB made a blunder in dealing with Reguilon’s cross. He put past his own net and helped the Spurs to equalise in the 72′. This own goal came about when Varane lost a ground duel pushing out.
5. Manchester United’s top 4 chances looks still thin despite the victory.
Arsenal are a point ahead of United with 3 games in hand that are Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs. They do have tricky fixtures but who knows?! With the form, they are in I won’t be surprised if they collect 9 points out of the possible 12. West Ham and Tottenham aren’t that far behind as well and these clubs face each other next Sunday.
