United gave us their best performance of the season as they thumped Spanis outfit Real Sociedad 4-1 on the night and 5-2 on aggregate to go through to the quarter finals of the Europa League where they will face Lyon en route to try to lift the trophy in the hopes of making this season a somewhat memorable one.
And should we continue to play like we did last night, who could stop us?
Awesome performance from the team 👏.
1. Starting slow
I know that this isn’t a new thing but the fact that in such a pressure game where our season was riding on it, the fact that the players still couldn’t get up for it (at least from the start) is a little alarming.
I know that this was the only negative in an otherwise brilliant display but when looking at those first 10 minutes until their penalty, United were quite poor.
There was no tempo again, the intensity was lacking, giving the ball away stupidly and in dangerous areas were evident once more and we just didn’t look on it.
Sociedad must have had at least three or four decent attacks in that period before the penalty.
After that, we began to see United wake up but always starting slow, going behind and then starting to play is not ideal. It’s great that we managed to make another comeback but it’s not something that Amorim will want his team to continue to do.
Kudos goes to him and the players though, as after the break, we were a different side as they started off well and played some good football in those 45 minutes. If only we can start matches in this manner.
2. Dorgu and heaven
These two were superb last night. For Amorim to play two new and young players down the left was a risk, but it was a risk that worked.
Heaven for me, had the better performance across the 90 whereas Dorgu had an average first half. However, his second 45 was exactly what we want from our wing-back.
He was up and down the pitch seamlessly and was key to some of the good work we did in attacks. Dorgu also won the foul for the second penalty showing just how high he was up the pitch.
The Dane also won a third spot kick which was overturned by VAR but also because of great sportsmanship by the 20-year-old as he told the referee that it wasn’t a penalty. Top stuff from him that caused the manager to say he’s “proud” of him for that although Amorim also admitted that he may have felt differently had the score been a lot closer.
The left wing-back was also brought down by Sociedad's Aramburu which resulted in him being sent off for being the last man. Another key moment in the game produced by United's new recruit.
Heaven looks like he's been playing football for United and under Amorim for a while as for him to come in at such a young age and play as well as he did is incredible.
Knowing that it was a risk to play Heaven and Dorgu on a side that is quite weak was asking a lot but also showed the manager’s faith and trust in these two players. Amorim had the option of Lindelof but chose Heaven instead which was a big call (and probably suggests to the Swede that his time at United is up).
The pair rewarded the manager with his selection and perhaps indicates that maybe we do have two top talents for the future?
3. Improved Rasmus
This was his best performance in a long time. How Hojlund performed in this match was similar to his fellow Dane in Dorgu in that it was what we all wanted.
I’ve been talking recently about how the striker seems to have lost all his abilities as a forward during this goal drought. Yes, a number 9 will always be judged on goals but one can still contribute in other ways.
Holding the ball up was better, the link up play was on point, getting into good areas was there, his running into the channels to create space for others was probably one of the best things he did. Bruno’s hat-trick is a great example of this as without Hojlund’s run to pull the defender, that space isn’t created and Bruno doesn’t have the opportunity to score.
The skipper gave praise to his striker after the game citing this instance as to why he is still so important to this team despite not scoring.
Another brilliant piece of play was the skill to create space for himself before squaring the ball to Dalot for the fourth. We know Rasmus is capable of this and I believe he looked a lot more on it last night and played with more belief than he has done in a while. And it showed.
Kind of silly that he did for Dalot for Dalot should be doing for him 🤷♂️.
Amorim will be hoping his striker can kick on from here after finally registering a goal involvement since the Viktoria Plzen game on 12 December.
4. Zirkzee is different class
That was a performance that Dimitar Berbatov would’ve been proud of!
Very much like the former striker, Zirkzee played with his usual casual approach but with a lot more control and confidence as everything he did was perfect.
Hojlund did a lot of that typical striker stuff but so did the Dutchman. Zirkzee too, was holding the ball up well, linking well with his teammates (including Hojlund), was involved with a lot of brilliant play and created some chances.
One prime example of the type of player Zirkzee is and how good he can be was in the second half when the ball came to him down the left wing.
Despite it coming from a decent height and distance and it being right on the touchline, the forward brought it down easily with a Johan Cruyff turn, kept it in and still skipped past his man.
He then led the attack which resulted in a great opportunity for the 23-year-old but a good save meant that he was denied what would’ve been a wonderful team and individual goal.
He is the type of player that when he’s on it, he is almost untouchable. For such a big guy to move the ball so nonchalantly whilst making it look effortless is no easy feat yet he seems to be doing it more regularly every game.
His performance was deserving of the man of the match award as he was unbelievable from start to finish. Zirkzee is thriving in that deeper role. I think we may have found his best position.
5. Ultimate team performance
This was our most complete display of the season. Other than those first 10 minutes, United played some of the best football we’ve played in a long time.
Onana was hardly troubled in goal, the defense was solid, Casemiro was like his old self, Bruno was brilliant, the wing-backs were what we wanted and the front three all played their parts as well.
Each area was something the manager would've been happy with but so were all of the individual displays. Each player couldn’t have done more.
And as a team, this showed as there was a chemistry and understanding between the players that we don’t see often enough.
That second half in particular was nigh on perfect so much so that Amorim had a smile on his face, something we haven’t seen since his early days at the helm.
While that move by Zirkzee was precisely what we need to do more of, the build up before the second penalty was beautiful football.
The way we worked it from side to side, didn’t rush nor look to force the issue, rotated the ball and eventually began to pass and move it quite quickly and accurately in tight spaces before Zirkzee had a shot that was saved from the ‘keeper. Dorgu was then fouled and we take the 2-1 lead from the spot.
That was Amorim ball. Maybe that was the moment he was smiling 🤣.
The question remains though, why can’t we do this every week? Clearly those players are capable to some extent to play some good football. That would be frustrating to the manager knowing they are capable but don't play like this every week.
Nevertheless, this win and performance can be a big boost moving into the quarters and rest of the season. Our campaign is still alive because of it so we HAVE to make the most of this victory.
Background Image: Diogo Dalot celebrates goal against Real Sociedad | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)