Manchester United returned to action following the World Cup break and picked up where they left off with a trio of wins wins against Burnley, Nottingham Forrest and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Ten Hag’s men saw off Vincent Kompany’s Burnley in a 2-0 win in the Carabao Cup which now puts United in the Quarter Final of the competition. Christian Eriksen opened the scoring in the first half before a terrific solo effort from Marcus Rashford settled the tie.
United will now face Charlton in the Quarter Final at Old Trafford. This a great opportunity for the reds to challenge for silverware for the first time since 2017.
It was a quick turnaround for United as they then faced Forrest in their return to the Premier League. However, they made light work of Steve Cooper’s side in a 3-0 win.
The form Rashford showed at the World Cup has continued upon his return as he grabbed his second in two games for United. He opened the scoring following a well-worked corner routine, peeling off from the Forrest defence and delivering a sublime finish. A finish that United’s attacking coach and former Porto striker Benni McCarthy would be delighted with.
Rashford then became the provider for Anthony Martial. The Frenchman’s low-driven shot was too hot to handle for Wayne Hennessy in goal, perhaps the downpour of rain played a decisive factor. Nevertheless, it was Martial’s fifth goal in nine games for United this season. After struggling with injury for the first half of the campaign he’ll be hoping he can cement his place up top in the new year.
After a Forrest goal was rightly disallowed just before halftime, United continued to dominate in the second half. An entertaining night of football was wrapped up with a third goal by Fred, who was set up by his Brazilian teammate Casemiro.
He may not have scored but Casemiro was the clear man of the match against Forrest. An immense performance from the Brazilian who seemed to be everywhere on the night, extinguishing any potential danger the visiting side could conjure up. He even played a role in the second goal for United, as his tackle then prompted the move which led to Anthony Martial’s finish.
When he first signed for United there were questions about whether he was too old and the price tag, however, those questions will now be falling on deaf ears if he continues to play like this. Even when he wasn’t starting games at the beginning of the season it always felt as though once he got his chance, he’d be a mainstay in this United team and he’s certainly seized his opportunity.
Overall, it’s been a good return to normality at Manchester United. Two wins, two clean sheets, five goals scored and one point off the top four. It’s good to see that the momentum left prior to the World Cup hasn’t been lost and despite not playing together since November, United are playing some good football.
United then faced Wolves on New Year's Eve, and despite his exclusion from the starting lineup due to 'internal disciplinary reasons', Marcus Rashford came off the bench to score the all-important goal in a 1-0 win.
Ten Hag’s side has been on a good run of late, only losing once in their last fourteen games. It’s now time to keep up this pace and grab a foothold in the Champions League positions in what will be a chaotic second half of the season.
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