The acceptable face of defeat
On a wacky night in Rome, United's stars were Edinson Cavani (again) and David de Gea
FIVE ASIDES Europa League semi-final, second leg: Roma 3, United 2 (agg. 5-8)
Well, they always lose a semi-final. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had been telling us it wasn’t all over at 6-2, and his players did their best to prove him right. And yet, wacky as United were at times, this was the acceptable face of defeat. The game was so open that you wondered if Jose Mourinho would have a heart attack before he even began his new job. Roma could have wiped out the deficit in the first half, when they had five shots on target – or in the second, when they had seven. David de Gea, now a Europa League specialist, chose the right moment to remind everyone that he was once a great goalie, all fast reflexes and firm hands. The BT pundits, aka the Old Trafford Old Boys, were asked whether he should start the final. Of course he should! One reason why last year’s Europa semi-final ended in tears was that Solskjaer dropped Sergio Romero (in favour of de Gea) after he’d played a big part in getting United there. Two wrongs would not make a right.
Faced with four games in eight days, Solskjaer was forced to rotate. But you could tell he was doing it reluctantly: only four of his regular first XII were rested, and one of them was Dean Henderson, who wouldn’t have played anyway. The others were Victor Lindelof, Scott McTominay and Marcus Rashford, who came on for a late cameo that would have meant more if it had been given to Anthony Elanga. The bravest move Solskjaer made was to take both full-backs off at half-time, and fortune didn’t favour his boldness: United went from conceding a juicy chance every ten minutes to conceding one every five minutes. This patchy performance may make him even keener on McFred, his axis of tenacity.
‘Cavani’s understanding with Bruno Fernandes has become a blur of excellence: a glance, a flick or chip, an angled run, a rasping shot, yet another assist’
At least Donny van de Beek got a start, for the first time in seven weeks. His ability to ghost into the box hadn’t gone away. Often he finds himself next to Edinson Cavani, which is the definition of the right place to be when a cross comes in. And if his passing was less precise than usual, we can put it down to rust, which won’t be a problem in the coming week.
Cavani, at 34, is still on fire. As in the first leg, he missed a sitter before he scored – but when he scored, he just wanted to score again, and did. He’s a magnificent sight, even in a zebra-striped shirt. His understanding with Bruno Fernandes has become a blur of excellence: a glance, a flick or chip, an angled run, a rasping shot, yet another assist. And there was a telling moment when Mason Greenwood found Rick Karsdorp squaring up to him, rather randomly. Cavani dashed across to shove Karsdorp away, like the dad of the smallest kid at the adventure playground. Over the past month, Cavani has been United’s best player, scoring seven goals in just over six hours on the field, including three winners (Spurs, Granada home and Roma home) and two equalisers (Roma, both legs). But, more than that, he’s clearly bonded with the young players around him. When he was subbed last night, straight after the Karsdorp skirmish, he gave Rashford a warm embrace. Solskjaer is right: Cavani’s got to stay one more season. The rapport he has with Fernandes, he will easily strike up with the Stretford End.
This was Greenwood’s 100th appearance for United. He’s the youngest Englishman to reach that mark – behind only two Northern Irishmen, George Best (who was a law unto himself) and Norman Whiteside (who was 17 going on 30). Greenwood only made his debut 26 months ago, in the last few minutes of the triumph at Parc des Princes – the sort of cameo Elanga wasn’t given last night. In these two years, Greenwood has become a very grown-up teenager. His finishing is a superpower on its own – clean, clinical, two-footed, and back in the groove after a bad patch. And he has become a hard-working winger, tracking back, holding the ball up, weaving infield, picking a pass, showing why he was once a midfielder. He has more impact on the right than through the middle. It makes sense to leave him there for at least another season, and therefore to pass on Jadon Sancho, tempting as he is now that his price has come down. Save the cash for Erling Haaland, Harry Kane or Declan Rice.