Manchester United pair Anthony Elanga and Victor Lindelof played for Sweden against Serbia in the UEFA Nations League yesterday.
Lindelof captained the team, which lost 4-1.
Elanga did not start the game. The 20-year-old started on the bench and only played for 26 minutes with manager Jan Andersson preferring three strikers from Tottenham’s Viktor Gyökeres, Emil Forsberg and Dejan Kulusevski.
The United academy graduate failed to impact the game off the bench, something his stats showed.
In his 26 minutes on the pitch, Elanga only managed a single shot on goal.
He attempted four dribbles, with only two insignificant successes.
The young attacker recorded an impressive 25 touches on the ball, showing his involvement in all of the action in what was a disappointing start on a personal level for him and Blågult.
The player made 15 passes, 12 of which successfully reached their intended destination: 80% passing accuracy.
Elanga also made just one key pass during her cameo, showing that she couldn’t impact the game the way her manager would have wanted.
He crossed the ball once against the defensively healthy Serbs.
Of the five ground duels he deepened, the 20-year-old only won two.
An even more frustrating metric for Elanga that night was the number of times he turned the ball over, giving possession to the opposition nine times in total, nearly once every three minutes.
This is something he has been accused of at United and if he wants to improve as a player and reach the heights his potential suggests he can reach, he must remove this waste from his game.
Elanga vs Serbia:
26 min played6.6 Rating @SofaScoreINT1 shot on goal1/3 dribbling attempts25 touches80% pass acc1 key pass0/1 cross1/4 duels on the field9 lost pos#mufc
— RedReveal (@RedReveal) September 24, 2022
A disappointing cameo for Elana on the night under the stewardship of her longest-serving United team-mate Lindelof, her performance against Serbia will do neither club nor country any favours. She still has a long way to go.
