Manchester United defeated Crystal Palace 3-0 at home on Tuesday night to advance to the Carabao Cup fourth round.
Alejandro Garnacho, Casemiro, and Anthony Martial each scored once as Erik ten Hag’s team cruised to victory at Old Trafford. The midweek match saw the Dutchman make a number of adjustments, and his team put up maybe their best season performance.
Roy Hodgson decided to rest the most of his first-team players, which allowed United to dominate from beginning to end against a Palace squad that provided very little offensively. Mason Mount had a good 45 minutes after returning from injury, and Sofyan Amrabat had a great debut for the Reds.
Here are a few highlights from Tuesday’s triumph that you might have missed.
The numerous recent fly-on-the-wall football documentaries have taught us that managers prefer to keep things straightforward in the minutes leading up to kickoff. Teams typically focus on detailed tactical work for the entire week before deciding to make day-of instructions simple.
Therefore, it was somewhat odd to witness Ten Hag and Diogo Dalot engaged in what appeared to be a lengthy tactical conversation as the teams prepared to begin the match. The Portuguese full-back immediately assumed a position in centre midfield, possibly giving away what the two had talked about.
Palace may have positioned up differently than was anticipated, forcing Ten Hag to react quickly, with Dalot frequently going into unusual spaces for a full-back.
Amrabat’s concern
Amrabat made his debut for United as left-back, surprising many supporters in the lead-up but working flawlessly. He frequently dipped into the midfield to bolster the midfield numbers, similar to Dalot.
Amrabat missed a shot from 20 yards out in the first 15 minutes and was even pressuring Palace left-back Tyrick Mitchell over on the opposite side of the pitch. The 27-year-old’s influence was so great that the opposition’s analysts, who were perched high above for the best view, were visibly anxious and working to find a solution before giving their recommendations to the squad in the bench.
Game advice is beneficial.
United scored their first goal on 21 minutes thanks to Garnacho after a strong start. Following a great run and cutback from Dalot, the Argentinean shifted his effort in the direction of goal.
Prior to kickoff and soon before the game’s start, Ten Hag was whispering in Dalot’s ear. The Dutchman spoke with Hannibal Mejbri briefly before advising his full-back.
The following play was made by Dalot, who brilliantly timed his underlapping run, sprinted into the Palace box, and played a precise cross for Garnacho. An excellent illustration of in-game administration.
Hannibal committed
Hannibal rarely plays a quiet game, and on Tuesday, the midfielder was once again in the thick of things. Midway through the first half, he was booked for an unjustified trip on Jordan Ayew, but he showed no signs of slowing down after that.
At halftime, Ten Hag may have intended to settle the 20-year-old down, but he was just as anxious to get back into it, forcing Andre Onana to stop him from leading his team out of the tunnel. Everyone was made to wait for captain Raphael Varane by the custodian.
The 19-year-old enjoyed a productive evening on the left, completing a full 90 minutes and netting the opening goal of the game. And as ever, there were plenty of flicks and tricks to get the crowd on their feet.
But with his side 3-0 up, there may have been a little too much as Garnacho beat Nathaniel Clyne and worked space for a cross before trying to beat him again and slipping. The Argentinian knew he had messed up and was on the touchline with Ten Hag shortly after.
Fortunately, he had been outstanding before and it was by no means a blasting, but the Reds manager employed hand gestures that suggested he was talking about the incident, emphasising that if a defender is beat it is time to play a pass.