Let's hear it for Rashford and Fernandes
Yes, Ronaldo got the winner, but it was these two who led the way
FIVE ASIDES Champions League: United 3, Atalanta 2
Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed the headlines again, but this riveting comeback had more to do with Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes. In the first half, both had been wasteful (as had Ronaldo). Rashford has returned to fitness but not yet to sharpness, so he squandered a few good chances. But he put them out of his mind to run onto Fernandes’ inspired flick and score the goal that dragged United back into the game. Rashford ended up with one goal from six attempts on the night, pipping Ronaldo’s one from seven; he already has two since his return, from just over 90 minutes’ playing time. And he brings so much more to the team. He’s a dynamo, generating electricity. His pace makes the pitch bigger – opposing defenders either have to go deeper or allow him to run in behind. He’s such a good foil for Fernandes: one has the vision, the other the velocity, and they’re in tune in a way neither is, as yet, with Ronaldo – you can see them both sensing the moment at the same time. Rashford is surely a future United captain, as long as he doesn’t go abroad. At the press conference before this game, he even sounded like a manager, saying United needed to get back to basics. They managed it.
If Fernandes wasn’t at his best in the first half, he was far better than some commentators made out. The phrase ‘diabolically bad’ was used, which was just plain silly. Yes, he gave the ball away, but he has a licence to thrill. His passing percentage is always among United’s lowest, because he takes risks that the others shy away from (apart from Paul Pogba). It was Fernandes, more than anyone, who saw what was needed when Atalanta scored their second. He had to drop deeper, stop doing Ronaldo’s pressing for him, and fill the yawning gap between McFred and the three musketeers in front of them. A few minutes later Fernandes sent a gem of a through ball to Rashford, who was wrongly ruled offside, and had been tackled anyway. A moment after that he played a dreamy flick to tee up Fred, who, as so often, missed the target. And then he produced another beauty of a long ball for Rashford, who hit the bar. The whole team were acclaimed for the fight they put up in the second half, but Fernandes had led the way, getting there ten minutes ahead of the rest. He’s a born leader – and a better one when he’s not captain, as the armband tends to disturb his balance and leave him bickering with the ref.
This performance makes United far more likely to reach the last 16, and also less likely to win a trophy this season. The League Cup has gone already, and the league has almost joined it (title-winners don’t fritter away ten points in the first eight games). The Champions League, let’s face it, is a pipe dream. So that leaves the FA Cup and the Europa League. The cup is in the lap of the draw. The Europa is the best bet, if United land up in it. It would be better if they did, and not just for the glimmer of silverware. Their supporting cast needs a chance to take the stage. Their three reserve No.10s – Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard and Donny van de Beek – were all spectators last night. Any of them might have had more to offer than the out-of-form Jadon Sancho, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer didn’t see it that way. I’m hoping Lingard, at least, was being kept under wraps for Liverpool.
Ah yes, Liverpool. How many are they going to score against this United defence? Nobody at the back is at their best, except David de Gea. Harry Maguire was guilty of allowing another soft goal, getting beaten to the ball at a corner, ending up attempting a foul (and even that didn’t work). He managed to atone at the other end with a clinical finish, but the fact remains that, from the moment Rashford scored at Leicester, United conceded four goals in 40 minutes’ play to two less-than-top teams. Luke Shaw has been shaky, although he might have dealt with the danger for Atalanta’s first goal had he and Victor Lindelof not been caught in each other’s position by a quick free kick. Aaron Wan-Bissaka still offers little going forward and has regressed as a defender, too often lunging in rather than giving the attacker some rope. Rafael Varane, the master of that art, can’t return soon enough. And the defence will improve if Edinson Cavani gets more minutes, because he defends from the front. He was invisibly excellent last night: his assist for Maguire’s goal, little more than a shake of the mane, was so subtle that some reports described it as a dummy. Let him lead the line on Sunday, with Ronaldo coming off the bench to nick a last-minute winner – or, more likely, equaliser.
Afterwards, Paul Scholes played Eeyore, saying the first half made him so unhappy that the second half didn’t make up for it. Rio Ferdinand was Tigger, enthusing about the comeback. Ferdinand thinks more like a boss and he saw the second Atalanta goal, rightly, as a moment of truth. United were so open at the back that they could have lost 4-1 and sunk to the bottom of the group with only one home game left. Instead they showed plenty of spirit just when it was most needed. Asked about this, Solskjaer argued with the question, which is seldom wise. ‘Don’t doubt the players,’ he said. But they – and he – had brought those doubts upon themselves with a run of wretched results. You get the questions you deserve.