Manchester United cruised to a 3-0 victory against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League tonight.
Erik ten Hag fielded a strong starting XI, apparently intent on ensuring that United have every possible chance of finishing top of the group ahead of Real Sociedad.
Cristiano Ronaldo started after being expelled from the squad for the day he traveled to face Chelsea. However, the surprise addition to the team was Alejandro Garnacho.
Victor Lindelof went on to replace the injured Raphael Varane with Tyrell Malacia replacing Luke Shaw at the rear of the left flank.
Here are three things we learned from Manchester United’s win against Sheriff.
Authoritarian first time
The Red Devils were by far the dominant team in the first 45 minutes.
To highlight this, United went into the break with a whopping 77% ball possession and recorded 13 shots on target, with five on target.
United took the lead just a minute before halftime courtesy of Diogo Dalot, who headed a Cristian Eriksen ball from the corner flag into Sheriff’s net.
Dalot’s goal came after a flurry of chances were created by a United side who were also solid defensively and never seemed in danger of being penetrated by their opponents.
Sheriff was limited to a few advances into United territory, but these forays were quickly wiped out by a combination of Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Lindelof, who were exceptional in shoring up the back line.
United had some standout artists, but the one that stood out above all the rest was Garnacho.
The 18-year-old showed United fans what they were missing on the left wing, with the way he continued to take on his man and engage defenders with his pace and intricate skill moves.
There is a real stir every time Garnacho takes the ball. He doesn’t flinch at all and looks very positive in possession, always looking to beat his man and get the ball into the box #mufc
— Rich Fay (@RichFay) October 27, 2022
The Argentine put some brilliant crosses into the box for Ronaldo. The biggest credit that can be given to the youngster is that he was one of the brightest players on a team full of seasoned professionals and some of the biggest players in the world.
Ronaldo is still unconvinced
Ronaldo’s return was signaled by some of his staunchest supporters as if he had a point to prove after the fiasco surrounding his banishment by the coach.
However, based on the evidence of his display against Sheriff, he may have done little to convince most fans, as well as the manager, why he needs to be a guaranteed starter.
The 37-year-old still looked a level or two below most of his teammates despite scoring in the second half.
He had numerous chances in the game to score a goal, but he missed on each occasion before finally grabbing a rebound from another unsuccessful effort.
His most bizarre miss came in the first half when fellow Portuguese Bruno Fernandes put the ball up for him, but he was unable to finish from close range.
Ronaldo was not particularly great in his link game and ball handling and was dispossessed in a number of extremely promising instances.
It will be interesting to see if Ten Hag sticks with Ronaldo on Sunday against West Ham.
United desperately need options on the right side
One element of the game that stood out in the win against Sheriff is United’s lack of credible options on the right flank.
When Antony was withdrawn immediately after the break, it fell to Fernandes, naturally a number ten, to play as a right winger.
In addition to this, when Ten Hag eliminated Dalot, Malacia took it upon himself to cover the right back position.
While Fernandes and Malacia can do a job there, they hardly command the trade from the right, which, as a consequence, saw the Reds design most of their attacks from the left.
Ten Hag could have brought Sancho, but decided against it, perhaps after the Englishman’s poor performance against Chelsea.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was not named to the bench, and even if he had been, it’s unlikely he would have gotten in. It seems that the technician has made it clear that Wan Bissaka is not in his plans.
A new right back is a must buy from January. It is imperative that Ten Hag integrate Facundo Pellistri into the team, or even restore Sancho to the right to compete with Antony.
