Garnacho's debut: bigger than Ronaldo's goal
In an easy win, there were several things to savour
FIVE ASIDES Europa League: United 3, Sheriff Tiraspol 0
Three-nil! The first one this season. United had had a 3-1 (v Arsenal), a 3-2 (v Omonia) and even a 3-6 (v some team in light blue), but they hadn’t had a 3-0 since the visit of Brentford on 2 May, back in another era. Good teams make a habit of winning 3-0. A great team would have beaten Sheriff Tiraspol 6-0 and not needed 44 minutes to take the lead, but 3-0 is good enough.
Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed the headlines, although his goal was just the cherry on the top. Back from the naughty step, he’s now the oldest sinner in town. In this display he showed both his virtues and his vices. On one hand: shrewd movement, neat link-up play, ability to shoot with either foot, sheer determination to get on the scoresheet. On the other: waning pace, fading marksmanship, tendency to hog the shooting (he took seven shots, four more than the next man), propensity for being caught offside, addiction to pulling faces for Instagram followers, sheer determination to get on the scoresheet. He is what he is, and he’s not what he was.
Ronaldo’s performance was less significant than Alejandro Garnacho’s full debut. When Ronaldo spent his first season with United, in 2003/04, Garnacho wasn’t even born. Now he’s 18 and, on this evidence, a proper United winger – a dancer, a chancer, an entertainer with a hotline to the crowd. Twisting, turning, wiggling past his full-back, chasing lost causes and tracking back, he did everything but score. He was the exact opposite of the man he replaced, Jadon Sancho, who’s been good at shooting this season but mediocre at everything else. Erik ten Hag has often called for his players to be braver, presumably with Sancho in mind. But managers have to be brave too, and here Ten Hag was rewarded for putting Garnacho in the limelight at last, five months after he led the charge to the FA Youth Cup. At 18 years and about four months, Garnacho is the same age as Ronaldo was when he joined United. In that first season Alex Ferguson gave him 40 games – even though he wasn’t scoring.
Christian Eriksen and Casemiro ran the show. They are the thinking fan’s McFred, both shining themselves and making those around them look better. The back four have been on a roll ever since Casemiro became a regular starter after the Etihad drubbing. They’ve now gone five games, against a mixed bag of opponents, without conceding in open play. Sheriff Tiraspol never looked very interested in scoring, but still, every clean sheet counts. Rafa Varane, unlike in most of his many absences, wasn’t missed, and Ten Hag was able to give Harry Maguire (as well as Donny van de Beek) a gentle reintroduction. From Fernandes, Maguire received the armband; from the crowd, a blend of cheers and boos. Both were premature: let’s see how he goes against stiffer opposition, starting on Sunday (if he gets on the field) with Gianlucca Scamacca of West Ham.
Marcus Rashford scored his sixth goal of the season, beating his tally for the whole of 2021/22. More surprisingly, it was a header – crisp, clinical, the very one he failed to convert against Newcastle. If it had been scored by Ronaldo, people would have said “You don’t get that from Rashford”. The odd thing about Rashford’s goals is that they keep coming when he’s not playing centre-forward. The first five came as he surged in from the left wing and for this one he was in the unfamiliar role of the No.10. Bruno Fernandes, who could have done with a breather, had been shunted out to the right to replace Antony – possibly in the doghouse after his ill-advised showboating, an extreme case of his penchant for taking too many touches. Ten Hag clearly doesn’t rate any other right-winger: Facundo Pellistri, who was on the bench, has now spent two years at United without making his debut. This leaves Ten Hag placing too much faith in Antony, refusing to rotate him. So it was that the ball ended up going round and round.
Tim de Lisle writes about sport for The Guardian and music for The Mail on Sunday. If you’re on Twitter, do follow him and United Writing.