Manchester United’s deep strength can deliver an unforgettable season finale

In the context of their loss of the first-choice centre-back duo with a strike in the middle of the week, with the unavailability of both left-backs, a continuous injury to the main goal and a sudden change in midfield after warming up, in the manner that Manchester follows. Victory over Nottingham Forest should give United plenty of encouragement in the second round.

Yes, Forest were tough opponents, now going 10 Premier League games without a win, but they are a side fighting at the bottom of the table and they were buoyed by a boisterous home crowd. Manchester City could only equalize when they came to the City Ground in February.

The preparation seemed poised for more turmoil with United, after three days of fragility that Seville witnessed in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals.

Instead, they won 2-0 – and the margin of victory should have been greater. They had a projected goalscoring average of 3.48, their second-highest of the season, and had 22 shots, including six great chances.

The key to composure in the midst of the chaos was the midfield triangle of Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen.

It was the first time they had started a game together since January 28, when United beat Reading in the FA Cup, but Eriksen was forced off with an ankle injury. The trio have now featured in Erik ten Hag’s starting line-up on 17 occasions and United are unbeaten in those matches, winning 15 and drawing two.

However, Eriksen was only in the squad due to an injury to Marcel Sabitzer in the warm-up. However, the class bypassed the improvised circumstances. Sabitzer is in fine form, scoring twice against Sevilla on Thursday, but as Ten Hag said afterwards: “When you call up Christian, it’s not a disgrace to your team – and he’s proven it. Everything goes well with him: many skills, an understanding of the game.” .

Eriksen was instrumental in building United’s deep play against Forest, clipping balls over his shoulder for the first time in midfield. He passed Fernandez using this method from David De Gea’s kick in the first half which resulted in the Portuguese being forced to save Keylor Navas. And he stopped the Forest goalkeeper again with his fingers in the second half to block Fernandez’s missile after Eriksen’s pass.

At that point, the duo were really having fun, ripping off their hosts. They made 83 successful passes in the opposition half (Fernandez 44; Eriksen 39) compared to the entire Forest side who made 66.

Casemiro is also adept at turning opposition pressure into attacks by sweeping forwards at a right angle, once doing it for Fernandes in the first half particularly well, and among United midfielders his 68.4 per cent guaranteed possession – the highest level them. Total in a Premier League match all season.

United’s defenders also played their part.

Diogo Dalot was starting on the left in place of Terrell Malacia, who was out with a sore knee, Luke Shaw was already out and although he had a hairy moment when he inadvertently set up Taiwo Awoniyi, he capped off his 100th appearance for United with a performance. good. Goal – his first in the Premier League.

Ten Hag has instructed his backs to move into central positions when United attack and Dalot’s goal was a case in point, timing his flight perfectly to meet Anthony’s through ball. His right-footed shot after being cut down shows the benefit of using him on the left flank.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka was good on the ball, and in between, the two full-backs helped United wield their power to create chances down the sides of the 18-yard box, especially in the first half.

The other two members of United’s defense came away satisfied as well.

Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof took a different picture of the player than the injured absentees Rafael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, which caused some concern among the fans. However, they did form a very solid partnership under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before signing these two and reminded us of their qualities on Sunday.

Maguire looked to have had a difficult afternoon after bringing down Awnyi to stop a counter-attack after just three minutes and earning himself a yellow card as a result. He was also jeered by Forest fans, who remember the two years he spent with local rivals Leicester City before joining United in 2019, after a loose ball to Wan-Bissaka.

But the England international got his positioning and passing right from there, and Forest’s breakaway attacks were limited.

“They defended really well – they dominated the opponents, the collaboration was really good,” Ten Hag said of his centre-back.

United have now won the last 11 games Maguire has started, and although the level of opposition in some of those matches was a factor in that, it’s still a sequence that demolishes the notion that the team has been undermined by his presence. It should also give hope to the fans in a second round that sees United without Martinez and possibly Varane as well.

Relief can also be found in the form of an improvement for Anthony, who may have had his best game to date with the club. He was poised to follow up Anthony Martial’s shot to score the opening goal and the assist to Dalot, whose combination of sharp dribbling and precise passing, could have been the best seen this season for United.

To really please Ten Hag, Anthony twice went outside to use his right foot, and made a save from Navas once. Ten Hag said Arjen Robben was very effective with his “one trick” of cutting inside, but admitted that Anthony needed to keep adding variety to make his style more difficult to stop.

From a situation on Thursday night where it felt like United’s season was imploding from within, Anthony’s form combined with the return of Martial suggested the prospect of advancing to the Europa League semi-finals in Thursday’s crucial game in Spain remains plausible.

And as far as the Premier League is concerned, that win lifted them into third place – six points clear of Tottenham in fifth place with a game in hand.

A strong end to the season is possible after all.

(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)