10 duels won: Two United stars send big message to Ten Hag, play them in their best positions
Manchester United picked up their first victory since September 17 with a 2-1 Premier League win over Brentford at Old Trafford yesterday.
The Red Devils lacked a cutting edge in the first half against the Bees. The visitors opened the scoring through Ethan Pinnock’s header in added time.
However, there was an exceptional response after the half-time interval.
Alejandro Garnacho scored on the volley in the 47th minute from a fine Marcus Rashford cross.
Rasmus Hojlund sealed the win for United after a wonderful flicked assist from Bruno Fernandes.
Garnacho was undoubtedly the man of the match. He started in his preferred left-wing position against the Bees, with Rashford operating from the right.
The youngster stood out with eight attempts on goal with six duels won. He was a regular threat in the second half. Aside from his goal, he made two key passes.
Diogo Dalot also had a fine afternoon, barring his positioning for Pinnock’s goal from a corner.
The Portuguese has played as a makeshift left-back this season, but he was restored to his preferred right-back role yesterday with Lisandro Martinez filling the void.
Dalot looked at ease with his gameplay. He won four out of five aerial duels contested. The defender had a passing accuracy of 92 percent and lost possession on just six occasions.
The Porto graduate was brilliant with his inverted runs on the right flank. Brentford could not cope with his movement, and he could have scored a sublime goal in the second half.
Garnacho and Dalot have sent big messages to manager Erik ten Hag that he should pick them in their preferred positions.
Rashford also looked much better on the right side of the attack. The Englishman seems to enjoy crossing the ball from that side, which he rarely does from the opposite flank.
Stats from Sofascore.com.
The post 10 duels won: Two United stars send big message to Ten Hag, play them in their best positions first appeared on Man Utd News.