Goals will steal headlines but Man Utd just did something vs Barnsley that did not happen all of last season

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Manchester United silenced all the whispers of a potential upset in an overwhelming display of ruthlessness with their 7-0 win vs Barnsley.

From the first goal till the seventh, it was a performance of breathless intent, sharp passing, and assertive defending when needed.

It is not often that it can be said that the scoreline could have been much worse despite winning 7-0 but this was the case here.

As always, goals will steal the headlines, as players like Antony showed encouraging signs, while Alejandro Garnacho, Christian Eriksen, and Marcus Rashford helped themselves to braces.

However, Manchester United and probably Erik ten Hag will be most pleased to see the team do something that never happened the whole of last season.

Manchester United’s masterclass

United had 26 shots at the opposition goal, with 13 of those on target so this was a remarkable display of ruthlessness while still leaving opportunities on the table.

The 7-0 win, while not amongst United’s biggest wins of all time, is still Ten Hag’s biggest at Old Trafford in his time at the club.

However, what will arguably please Ten Hag the most is the way the opposition was completely nullified.

The clean sheet is nice, but the fact that Barnsley had zero shots on target and just three in total, is a far cry from last season’s chaos.

United finished last season as a shot-giving machine, as Ten Hag was forced to answer questions about his side’s openness before and after every game.

This season, despite some up-and-down results, the defence has generally been much tighter and compact and this was the ideal display.

United didn’t defend by dropping deep and limiting high-quality chances, as Ten Hag was at pains to say last season to justify the high shot count.

Instead, they defended by attacking, which means creating turnovers by pressing high in a play straight out of what the manager has been trying to preach for the last two years.

A stern test coming

United have generally been an improved outfit this season but it is still worth noting that their losses this season have come against two teams who rival them.

Therefore, it is still a valid question of how United do against opposition that is not as obliging as Southampton or Barnsley.

For Ten Hag, that test will come as soon as this weekend, when they travel to their bogey place, Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace.

It is the venue where a patch-up team got mauled 4-0 last season as Ten Hag looked like his race at United was run.

There is no better place for the new and improved tactical system to get tested than in this game that could be poetic.

The manager will not get carried away by this victory due to the opposition but it is still a vital building block to build upon with much more stern challenges coming.