Manchester United finally overcame Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in the Europa League this evening.
Head coach Ruben Amorim fielded a strong side that included Andre Onana in goal.
The back three were Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez.
Diogo Dalot and Tyrell Malacia were the wing backs, with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes in central midfield.
The front three comprised Marcus Rashford, Amad Diallo and Josh Zirkzee.
Here are three things we learned from the game.
1. Marcus Rashford is broken
Any hopes that Marcus Rashford’s woeful form over the past year and a half might have been down to Erik ten Hag’s management look to have completely slipped away after another horror show this evening.
Everything about the performance was wrong. His work rate, his positioning, his passing, his movement and his whole on-field persona were all below the standards of a Premier League footballer.
He was lucky not to be sent off, having dived in with his studs up for a sliding tackle having already been booked. He was subbed after 55 minutes, pretty much in disgrace.
With another coach failing to inspire him, we must conclude that there is something mentally broken with the Wythenshawe man that is not showing signs of being resolved. He does not seem to be enjoying his football and Amorim has a difficult battle on his hands to find the key to this huge problem.
2. Andre Onana is dodgy again
One of the few bright sparks this season for United has been the fantastic form of the goalkeeper after a patchy 2023/24. However, a bad error against Nottingham Forest at the weekend was compounded today by a howler that gifted Viktoria their goal.
A sloppy pass fell straight to the opposition striker and caused United to concede a goal that they struggled to overcome.
It was not an isolated error either. Onana fumbled two crosses in the first half and also made some poor passes.
To a large extent his mistakes cost United their place in last season’s Champions League knockout stages and history could have repeated itself today had it not been for two great comeback goals from Rasmus Hojlund.
3. Hojlund learning to be a goal poacher
United spent a lot of money on Rasmus Hojlund last year and it is fair to say that he is still very much a diamond in the rough. One of the criticisms often levelled at him has been his inability to score poacher’s goals in and around the six yard box. However since Amorim’s arrival, this seems to have been rectified and today was an excellent example, with the Dane scoring two striker’s goals to win the game.
Featured image Gabriel Kuchta via Getty Images
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Red Billy
Red Billy is the managing editor of The Peoples Person, author of three books and totally obsessed with football’s transfer market. Billy still insists Matteo Darmian and Alex Telles could have made it at United given half a chance.
