Manchester United cruised to a 2-0 win against Sheriff in their second Europa League match of the season.
The victory means that United opened their account in the competition with three points.
The Red Devils lined up in a 4-3-2-1 formation, which Erik ten Hag has shown a preference for since his arrival at Old Trafford.
The Dutch coach fielded a relatively strong starting XI against modest Moldovan opposition. Lisandro MartÃnez teamed up again with Raphael Varane with David de Gea in goal.
Tyrell Malacia and Diogo Dalot formed the wings. Christian Eriksen was combined with Scott McTominay at midfield and Bruno Fernandes took on the role of attacking midfielder. Cristiano Ronaldo led the United line with Jadon Sancho and Antony on either side of him.
As Ten Hag’s European journey finally kicked off after the loss against Real Sociedad, here are three things we learned from tonight’s contest.
McTominay has significantly improved
McTominay was the deepest midfielder against Sheriff and in the 45 minutes he was on the pitch, he hardly made a single misstep.
The Scotland international, who has recently and rightly won applause for his strong performances, had another stellar performance.
The 25-year-old ran the midfield in spectacular fashion in the first half, excelling in his destroyer role.
On multiple occasions, United have not. 39 broke up the game to put his side back in the driver’s seat every time they seemed to be glued together. He was strong in his tackle and superb in his interception, limiting Sheriff’s players to midfield fights.
What stood out the most in McTominay’s display tonight was his visibly improved positioning. In stark contrast to the past, he now seems sure of himself and sure of where to be when needed.
He certainly seems like someone who enjoys Ten Hag’s elite training. Unsurprisingly, in his current form, he keeps the world-class Casemiro out of the starting eleven.
Erik ten Hag has a nailed starting XI
At present, any United fan can almost certainly predict which players will start before the official line-up is announced.
The coach and his coaching staff seem to have agreed on a definite group of players who will be regulars, most of them starting tonight against Sheriff.
The United manager has achieved in just a few weeks what his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had failed to achieve in the years he was at the helm of The Theater of Dreams.
The Norwegian was constantly changing and adjusting his teams, often without giving players the time to develop chemistry and form concrete partnerships on the pitch.
The only argument that could be made is for Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, who is likely to replace Ronaldo. The other is for Casemiro instead of McTominay when the Brazilian inevitably catches up.
United Most Dominant
Based on tonight’s victory, one thing that can be deduced is that the 20-time English champions are consistently controlling games much better and for longer periods.
Ten Hag’s men were comfortable for large segments of the match, moving the ball quickly and accurately when needed.
Off the ball, the players were also compact and defensively tight. They were so solid that most of Sheriff’s goal attempts were long-range efforts from outside the box, a testament to United’s burgeoning maturity.
On offense, tonight’s victors created wave after wave of chances, holding off most of the Sheriff’s defense. One can’t help but think that on another day, United may have scored far more goals than the actual score.
