Ruben Amorim watched his side make it three successive wins on Thursday night as the Europa League league phase concluded.
Manchester United have now won five of seven games in 2025, with just one defeat.
This is a drastic upturn in form considering how dire things were for Ruben Amorim in December.
Thursday night saw United beat FCSB 2-0, rounding out the month in style with a second clean sheet on the bounce – with things really looking up for Amorim.
United are straight through to the round of 16, with a handful of players having very encouraging performances – while some were less impressive.
Here are the winners from the game, followed by those who walk away from The National Arena as losers despite United’s win.
Winners
Starting with the winners, of which there were four in the 2-0 win.
Kobbie Mainoo
The first and most obvious name in this section is the brilliant Kobbie Mainoo, who had his best game possibly since the FA Cup final on Thursday.
Mainoo was playing as a No.10 for United, an experiment that worked out for Amorim. The 19-year-old scored and assisted in the game, looking very comfortable in the final third.
Having struggled as one of the two midfielders, this was a welcome change for Mainoo. With his performance among United’s best which signals that this could very well be his new long-term role.
Lisandro Martinez
Joining Mainoo in the winners column is central defender Lisandro Martinez.
The Argentine is becoming key for Amorim and against FCSB Martinez was excellent as he created three chances and completed the most passes in the game.
Martinez is given license to step into midfield and it has worked to great success so far for United and United’s No.6 continues to look like the best version of himself.
This is a welcome return to form, and he walks out of Romania even more untouchable than he already was, with Luke Shaw’s impending return.
- READ MORE: Who is Lisandro Martinez? Step inside the life of Manchester United’s tenacious Argentine
Alejandro Garnacho
Martinez is not the only Argentine on the winners’ list as Alejandro Garnacho was also impressive for United against FCSB.
Garnacho emerged from the bench and changed the game for United with his electric dribbling and direct threat to the FCSB back-line something they simply couldn’t handle.
The 20-year-old assisted Mainoo’s goal and with his performance, Ineos will surely be questioning whether they are making the right decision with United rumoured to be in talks with Chelsea over a sale.
United fans were impressed with Garnacho and the stance is clear. Keep him.
Altay Bayindir
The final name we have in the winners’ column is Altay Bayindir, with the Turkish international continuing to prove himself and keep pressure on Andre Onana.
Bayindir did not have loads to do in the game but did make three huge saves.
The No.1 prevented 0.93 expected goals, and barely put a foot wrong in the game besides his erratic passing at times. He seems to be Amorim’s cup goalkeeper going forward.
Losers
Now onto the losers…
Rasmus Hojlund
Rasmus Hojlund started for United here, and once again he was poor in front of goal and failed to score.
Hojlund has regressed since last season and right now he looks a million miles away from being worth the £64m United spent on him in 2023.
United’s No.9 shows no nous in the box, as he is almost always in the wrong position and fails to make runs in the right direction too.
It may be time for United to send the Dane on loan to develop as the club need better striking options.
Tyrell Malacia
The second and last loser of the 2-0 win over FCSB is Tyrell Malacia, who was off the pace at left wing-back.
The Dutchman struggled and was sloppy in possession almost giving away an easy goal.
Luckily for Amorim, the club has already sorted this issue as Patrick Dorgu will undergo his medical this weekend. But it certainly seems like Malacia is on thin ice, having been hooked off at half-time once again.
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