The penalty-taker to blame is not Elanga
Ronaldo is having a bad run, and it cost United a place in the fifth round of the cup
FIVE ASIDES FA Cup, fourth round: United 1, Middlesbrough 1 (7-8 on pens)
United crashed out of the cup because they missed a penalty – not the one poor Anthony Elanga ballooned, but the one early on that Cristiano Ronaldo screwed wide of the left-hand post. Elanga is a beginner, whose nerves were understandable; Ronaldo a past master, who simply had to hit the target. It was out of character for him to miss, but not out of kilter with his recent form. He had ten shots in this match, only three of them troubling the keeper. He hasn't scored a goal this year – and if he doesn’t score, it’s hard to see how he’s worth a place in the starting XI. There was a telling moment when United had a chance to take a throw quickly on the right, where Ronaldo had just been, and he scuppered it by strolling back to the middle without even looking at the thrower. His performance wasn’t all bad: it was his dart forward to press the keeper that led to Bruno Fernandes hitting the post, one of several big chances United squandered. Ronaldo hardly ever goes five games without a goal and it would be just like him to score at Turf Moor tomorrow, in his first game as a 37-year-old. But it would also be perfectly reasonable if Ralf Rangnick made him a sub and backed Edinson Cavani to lead the line. Cavani’s hypochondria can be maddening but when he gets on the pitch, his commitment is exemplary. If you could fuse Ronaldo’s fitness with Cavani’s team spirit, United would still be in with a realistic chance of a trophy.
This match ended up as a fiasco from the Solskjaer school of cock-ups. Thirty shots, only one goal, poor game management, not enough firepower on the bench, no Jesse Lingard (who should have started), and everything coming down to Ole’s favourite phrase: fine margins. It's extraordinary how often a man with a plan, in Rangnick, has ended up emulating a man without a plan that any of us could discern.
And yet… United played better, for longer, than they have since Rangnick took over. Some of their football was scintillating – fast, decisive, fully alive. Paul Pogba didn’t just win that early penalty: he ran the midfield, made the ball talk and had some sparkling exchanges with Rashford, who seemed to be electrified by Pogba’s return. Fernandes, Rafael Varane and Dean Henderson were excellent too. (‘He’s had nothing to do all evening,’ said the commentator as Henderson made a fine reflex save. He’s had nothing to do all season!") Jadon Sancho finally played as well for Rangnick as he had for Michael Carrick, and looked like the winger United signed rather than the one who turned up for the first six months of the season. Even in the shoot-out, United were pretty good: they scored with their first seven penalties, just as they had with their first ten in the Europa League final. To get 17 pens out of 19 spot-on and still lose – twice – is quite an achievement.
They do have one player left in the FA Cup this season. James Garner, on loan at Forest, is having a hell of a cup run after starring in the giant-killings of both Arsenal and Leicester. Still only 20, he’s a deep-lying maestro in the Carrick tradition, not just a holding midfielder but a conductor of the orchestra. Against Leicester (highlights here) he even managed an assist from a corner, something nobody playing for United has managed this season after 128 attempts. Yes, Rangnick or his successor should sign the regal Declan Rice if he’s willing to join them. But if he’d rather go to Chelsea, which seems more than likely, United should put their faith in Garner. He could light up next season’s Europa League.