Manchester United have been ahead for 74 of the 450 minutes they’ve played in Group F yet find themselves qualified for the Champions League knockout phase a game early; a vignette, if ever there was one, of a club that has spun like a carousel this season.
They have been calamitous at times, sinking to the depths against one of the Premier League’s worst teams on Saturday, only to rise at other moments in flashes of inspiration in Europe’s elite competition.
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One of those bursts clinched victory at El Madrigal last night. With the pressure eased by Cristiano Ronaldo’s nonchalant opener in the 78th minute, United suddenly cut through Villarreal for a clinching second goal in the last minute of normal time where each player involved offered a little riposte to recent criticism. At every stage of the move, the right decision was made in a split second.
It began with Fred, who chased down Juan Foyth and eventually nicked the ball at the third attempt, with Ronaldo arriving like the cavalry to backheel it instantly back to the Brazilian.
Fred’s pressure had created the first goal, snapping into Etienne Capoue high up to feed Ronaldo and afterwards, caretaker manager Michael Carrick gave kudos to a player whose repeated inclusion in the team has left their United midfield predecessor turned pundit Roy Keane in tortured confusion in TV studios across the UK.
“If you look back, we have pressed a team, especially on goal kicks; sometimes it hasn’t worked but the intention is to do that,” Carrick said. “Fred is one of the best around at what he does, he played a massive part in the first goal. The defending and intercepting for the second is what we’ve got in the team, to be able to hit teams on the break, and intercepting and breaking have always been in the DNA of this club.”
Carrick and coach Kieran McKenna are major advocates of Fred. Others are not as sold on the 28-year-old, who cost £52 million three years ago, recognising those occasions when his eagerness to seize possession has allowed opponents to pass into the gaps around him. United’s press was more second gear than full throttle until the moment Fred pressed the accelerator to assist Ronaldo’s opener. It was almost as if United had been playing possum and Capoue was caught out.
Fred’s role in the second goal finished when he passed inside to Scott McTominay, another player who has found himself the subject of debate. McTominay’s passing has been scrutinised but here he threaded a ball between two Villarreal players to Ronaldo while off-balance.
Ronaldo had begun to run down the wing as soon as he had made that initial lay-off to Fred, into the space vacated by Foyth. The speed of the attack caught Villarreal out, and Ronaldo continued the urgency with a first-time pass to Marcus Rashford.
For the first time since rejoining United in August, Ronaldo started on the left last night and although he swapped positions with Anthony Martial up top, and even had a brief spell on the right, he was back on the left when Rashford entered the contest on 66 minutes.
Ronaldo did not track back to the same extent as Jadon Sancho, at some points in the first half leaving Carrick’s side looking like a lopsided 4-4-2, but the narrative that he does not run defensively was undermined when he sprinted to close down Villarreal as United defended deep. He let out a pained growl at Donny van de Beek and waved Martial into position.
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Of course, Ronaldo does his best work in attack, and as well as scoring six goals in the five group games, his link play here was pivotal.
Rashford carried the ball on for United, then, with his third touch, played a left-footed pass inside to Bruno Fernandes that opened up a real chance.
Rashford might have been frustrated not to start the game but Carrick wanted to start compact and have options on the bench that would lift the team. Rashford did that.
Fernandes was another major absentee from Carrick’s first line-up, and it was a decision that the coaches have been considering for some time.
The players found out at the team hotel the night before the game, so had time to digest Carrick’s decision and when Fernandes arrived there was no sign that he felt bruised at being left out. After coming on for the fourth quarter of the game, he set up Sancho for a great chance, then fired a superb pass to Ronaldo that was unfairly punished for handball.
In this move, Fernandes’ brush on the ball gave Sancho a clear sight of goal for a second time.
Sancho’s finish was explosive — one touch to control, another to smack a finish in off the bar.
It was fitting that, having waited to make an impact in a United shirt after his summer arrival at Old Trafford, Sancho did so in emphatic style. His celebration told a story.
Sancho was United’s best player overall last night, doing his defensive work with conviction and posing a threat whenever given the ball. He whipped a wicked cross just over Ronaldo’s head, dribbled into midfield before slipping a pass to Martial, and left Samuel Chukwueze on the floor with a sharp body turn.
There was a curious aversion to giving Sancho the ball in the first half, the muscle memory of United having a deficit on the right in recent years, perhaps since Ronaldo was playing there over a decade ago.
But Sancho has shown what he can do when he gets it. He provided the exclamation point on a wonderful move.
Laurie Whitwell worked for the Daily Mail from 2010, covering midlands football for the last five years, including Leicester’s remarkable Premier League triumph. Whitwell was nominated for sports scoop of the year at the 2019 SJAs for breaking Wayne Rooney’s move to DC United. He will be reporting on Manchester United for The Athletic. Follow Laurie on Twitter @lauriewhitwell
