By: @YunHongOfficial, Twitter
Manchester United produced one of their best performances this season in a 4-0 demolition of Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday night. Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard got on the scoresheet which included an unfortunate own goal by the visitor’s goalkeeper Brad Jones. United were dominant from start to finish, largely due to a strong performance by the defensive partnership of Phil Jones and Daley Blind. Here we look at 3 talking points of the game at Old Trafford.
1. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is United’s missing piece of the jigsaw.
United’s summer signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan was finally given a chance to prove himself on the pitch, and boy did he prove himself. Mkhitaryan was brilliant from start to finish, linking superbly with the likes of Rooney, Mata and fellow summer signings Pogba and Ibrahimovic. So impressive was Mkhitaryan’s display that even Jose Mourinho heaped praise on him in his post match press conference. After this sensational midfield masterclass which earned him the man of the match award, Mkhitaryan will surely be pushing for a start in United’s next league outing against West Ham United.
2. Form is temporary, class is permanent.
Despite being out of sorts since the start of the season, coupled by negative stories of him filling the English newspapers this past week, Wayne Rooney has finally showed that he deserves a place in the Manchester United starting eleven. Rooney was involved in all the goals up to the point he was withdrawn from the game, producing a magical finish to open the scoring in the first half, before setting up Juan Mata for United’s second with a sublime no-look pass. He looked very confident throughout the game and linked up very well with his teammates. Looks like Rooney has finally regained some of his form ahead of the crucial November and December period for United.
3. Michael Carrick has to start every game
One of the most underrated players in the footballing world, Michael Carrick is still United’s main man even at the age of 36. With the elegance of Andrea Pirlo and the composure and vision of Xavi, it is nearly impossible to find a defensive midfielder as good as Carrick in the current United squad. Carrick’s commanding midfield presence allowed Paul Pogba the freedom to roam and inflict severe damage on the opponents. United have been playing a makeshift defence lately with the likes of Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly out injured, and playing Carrick in front of the back four has worked wonders for Jose Mourinho’s team.
