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5 months ago
43 Some of Erik ten Hag’s critics were quick to downplay Saturday’s magnificent achievement of overcoming Man City in the FA Cup final by pointing out that Manchester United showed an identity at Wembley they have lacked throughout the season.
I decided to write this quick explanation piece after finding it lazy of Alan Shearer, in particular, to question something Ten Hag had answered previously in his post-match interview on BBC One. United fans on social media felt the same about Shearer and Gary Lineker being out of order with negative questions after such a triumph.
“The only thing I would say to that is that you have had a team out there today who have shown a great, who’ve shown great ability, who have won every single tackle,” Shearer said, before adding, “That hasn’t always been the case this season though, has it? So you don’t understand why we do criticise sometimes. If you had that every single week, you would not have finished eighth. Today was unbelievable.”
The problem is the criticism was lazy. It was the sort of thing you would hear someone sat at home say in front of their TV, but pundits on our screens should be capable of overlooking that and gaining insight through in-depth questioning. The two Match of the Day presenters were two pig-headed in their approach to do their job properly.
Saturday was unbelievable because of several important factors. Ten Hag had most of his squad available and his gameplan was spot-on from start to finish. Why are pundits incapable of seeing that if he had the team he had at Wembley throughout the season, we wouldn’t have finished eighth in the Premier League?
The numbers
Ten Hag made a tactical tweak in his line-up for the final and welcomed back some key players to help re-form combinations on the pitch that delivered success in his first season. Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez were formidable at the back, Sofyan Amrabat kept Casemiro out of the team and controlled everything in midfield, while United had enough firepower to get at City when the opportunity was there.
Manchester United XI for the FA Cup final: Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Dalot; Amrabat, Mainoo, McTominay; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford.
It only makes sense for us to take a look at how much football some of these players missed this season, by looking at the numbers.
Defence
Andre Onana has been a mainstay in between the sticks this season, but the Cameroonian goalkeeper has not had much time to play behind a settled back four during his 51 appearances this season.
The same could be said for Diogo Dalot at right-back. The Portuguese full-back was United’s most improved player this season and his availability served Ten Hag well after the squad was hit by an injury crisis. 50 appearances.
It had been a difficult season for Raphael Varane, struggling for form as well as niggles which kept him out of action for sustained periods. 32 appearances.
As for Lisandro Martinez, our best defender endured a nightmare campaign with serious injuries. He is crucial to how we play and the way our players approach football matches. 14 appearances.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka has done a job this season, but he’s far from ideal. 30 appearances.
Midfield
Sofyan Amrabat was the main cog in United’s midfield against City. The Fiorentina loanee made 30 appearances this season, with few of them coming in the role he played at Wembley. The Moroccan got a run of games under his belt towards the end of the season and gained a lot of support.
Whereas Kobbie Mainoo has played lots of games for a youngster who missed the first half of the season. 32 appearances.
Scott McTominay played an important role this season and deserved his place in the final after scoring multiple important goals throughout the campaign. 43 appearances.
Attack
Like Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho has been asked to play a lot of football this season. 50 appearances.
Bruno Fernandes isMr Available season after season. If only other players were like Fernandes. 48 appearances.
Marcus Rashford hasn’t played this season so he was fortunate to earn a place in the line-up at Wembley. A tough season for the United forward despite making 43 appearances.
Conclusion
You cannot underestimate the loss of Martinez for various chunks of the season. The team looks completely different when he’s available, so it’s no wonder an ageing Varane began to struggle for form. They were dynamite together in the heart of defence.
The Argentina international deserved the praise he earned from Pep Guardiola following the final.
“Lisandro Martinez is top five centre-backs in the world,” the City boss explained. “He made the difference on this game by playing passes through our defence.”
You’ve got to ask how many times did Ten Hag have his best defence available this season? We beat City when he had close to a fully fit backline.
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