FIVE ASIDES Europa League last 16, first leg: United 4, Betis 1
Erik ten Hag’s mid-match changes have been a feature of United’s season. For his latest trick – and with apologies for a Ronan Keating earworm – he changed nothing at all. Ten Hag’s decision to name the same XI after Black Sunday worked on a few levels. It allowed the players an instant shot at, in his word, rehabilitation; it confirmed that he knows his own mind and has no interest in performative PR gestures; and, most importantly, it sent the clear message that nothing had changed, that this was still his best XI*, and it correctly framed Anfield as the ultimate outlier. Externally the Betis game was both a cup tie and a health check, but Ten Hag didn’t see it like that. Either way, United got the all-clear.
* Okay, his preferred XI, but that’s another story
Wout Weghorst’s first goal at Old Trafford led to the most cathartic celebration by a United player since another, slightly more ruthless, Dutchman, Ruud van Nistelrooy, helped end Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run in October 2004. Weghorst convulsed with joy as he ran towards the corner flag. When he got there and fell to his knees, his face betrayed myriad emotions: joy, relief, pride, gratitude. After the struggling England legspinner Ian Salisbury took a rare wicket on the tour of Pakistan in 2000-01, the Telegraph’s Michael Henderson wrote that “There was something pathetic about the way his tea-mates congratulated him… It was as if a backward child had suddenly learned how to spell his name and deserved a treat. Test cricket is no place for remedial work.” Times have changed and language certainly has. The warmth towards Weghorst – from the crowd and particularly his team-mates, who are best qualified to appraise his worth – could not have been more sincere.
O captain! My captain! This being a football match, Bruno Fernandes was again the centre of attention. After downing tools when Stefan Bajcetic ran past him at Anfield, he went into his box of tricks against Betis. He gave a masterclass in incisive passing, especially in the second half, and played a part in all four goals. Bruno being Bruno, the night was not without melodrama. He might have been sent off for an overzealous, over-the-ball challenge on Claudio Bravo. “He was the best player on the pitch and it showed his personality,” said Ten Hag. “He played in a little bit of a deeper role tonight, he was brilliant.” Whether he is a suitable captain remains up for discussion, but there’s one thing almost everyone can agree on: with the ball, Fernandes will always be a leader.
Old formations die hard. Fernandes spent most of the game as a No8, and United's shape was a modern version of the classical Ajax 4-3-3. Yet the world is so used to United revolving around Fernandes at No10, as it did under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, that even the official site gave the formation as 4-2-3-1. Ten Hag has done this a few times already; United played a similar system – for richer and poorer – away to Chelsea, Fulham and Arsenal among others. It’s the Ajax way, and it’ll soon bt eh United way. There will always be some flexibility in a Ten Hag squad, not to mention hotdesking when the subs come on, but 4-3-3 is likely to be United's main formation next season as they complete the transition from counter-attackers to possession-hoggers. That will mean a lot more games at No8 for Fernandes. But as he showed against Betis, he doesn’t need to play as a No10 to be the centre of attention – or the most influential player on the pitch.
All David de Gea wanted to do was be a goalkeeper. To play for his country, and for a famous old club, and be recognised as the best shot-stopper in the world. At his peak, from around 2012 to 2018, De Gea achieved that. It’s hard to recall any keeper in the game’s history who could be so relied upon to make awesome reaction saves, and we should never forget how good he was. But the game has changed - and so has De Gea, who has never fully recovered from a crisis of confidence at the 2018 World Cup. He no longer makes enough great saves to outweigh his inability to dominate his penalty area, and the growing insecurity around him has been exacerbated by the modern need for a goalkeeper to be the 11th outfield player. A handful of goals this season, including killer blows away to Brentford and Arsenal, have stemmed from his obvious discomfort in possession, and a wretched pass almost led to another against Betis just before Marcus Rashford’s opening goal. Later in the first half, De Gea wafted a routine pass straight out of play. While Ten Hag has worked wonders on the training ground, as Aaron Wan-Bissaka reminded us with his intrepid second-half performance, this particular coaching job might be beyond him. Ten Hag publicly defended De Gea after the game, but it would be no surprise if he has privately reached the conclusion you can’t teach an old DdG new tricks.
Rob Smyth is a sportswriter for The Guardian and co-founder of United Writing. He also writes occasionally at ntzr.substack.com