This game was all about Scott McTominay
United's flying Scotsman is now their top marksman, but his success comes at a price
FIVE ASIDES Premier League: United 2, Chelsea 1
One step forward, one step back, another step forward. This was much better – intense, attacking, committed, United. But was it better in a way that is built to last?
Scott McTominay had the game of his life. He had scored twice for United before, but only against Leeds (in December 2020, starting a rout) and Brentford (the other day, supplying a late twist). If Chelsea in mid-rebuild are not necessarily better than Brentford, they’re certainly bigger. And this was a massive occasion: for the sake of the fans’ sanity, and the manager’s job prospects, United simply had to win. In a game of feckless finishing, McTominay was the best marksman. Chelsea found the target just three times in 13 attempts. United were even worse – three out of 21 – apart from McTominay. He had seven attempts on goal, five of them accurate, two of those pinpoint, including a gorgeous left-foot volley from his own right-foot flick. United’s best striker at the moment, their leading scorer in the league, is not actually a striker. Or is he?
Erik ten Hag, bowing to pragmatism, is letting McTominay storm forward as he does for Scotland. It’s great for him but a mixed blessing for United. It leaves the single holding midfielder very exposed as McTominay goes full steam ahead and Bruno Fernandes roams here, there and everywhere. United would have been punished for that by a stronger team than Chelsea – or even one whose manager hadn’t baffled the pundits by putting three defenders in the wrong position, as if he was trying to be like Ten Hag on a bad day. As it was, Sofyan Amrabat’s performance in the pivot proved to be just good enough. It was the most assured he’s been since the League Cup win over Palace: for all Kobbie Mainoo’s class, Amrabat is better able to hold the fort. He did the job McTominay used to try to do in the age of McFred.
When you need commitment, McTominay is your man. His attitude is top-class. He’ll get stuck in, run all night, and still have enough energy left to give a sweaty, no-nonsense, self-deprecating interview. But his passing is not great (it made sense that David Moyes pursued him in the summer, but it was a mystery why Thomas Tuchel did). He has produced only five shot-creating actions in the league all season (two of them last night), and against the top teams his shooting is liable to evaporate. He didn’t have a single shot at Newcastle, or against Brighton. His two attempts against Man City were both low-grade (xG between them: 0.2). Yes, he has five goals in the past eight league games, but in the middle of that sequence was a five-game run of blanks. With luck, this performance will be a breakthrough.
When United go to Anfield on Sunday week, they will need McTominay’s fighting spirit. The danger is that it will be the only thing he brings. There’s a case for fielding him as a false nine, because that’s where he is playing anyway. It would allow Ten Hag to add some insurance behind him, with Mainoo (or Casemiro, if fit) joining Amrabat as the defensive shield. But it would entail an admission that Ten Hag may not be ready to make: that you can spend £65m on a big gutsy striker and then find that you already had a more effective one in your squad, masquerading as a midfielder.
Tim de Lisle, a United fan since before Scott McTominay was born, is the editor of United Writing and a sportswriter at The Guardian, where he had the good fortune to live-blog the Chelsea game.