It has not been an easy first season at Manchester United for Donny van de Beek. His selection has been irregular and scattered and it has not been conducive to producing good form.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made a bold and quite understandable call to bring him back into the starting line-up after injury against Leicester, while resting Bruno Fernandes, who has barely had a break at all this season.
Van de Beek had started all three of United’s FA Cup games prior to this and starting this game will have come as a big confidence boost for him.
The Dutchman repaid his manager’s faith by playing a key part in United’s first half equalising goal.
Van de Beek dummied Paul Pogba’s path into the box, when most players would have taken a swing at it.
He knew he had a teammate behind him in a better position, and Mason Greenwood duly dispatched to shoot past the goalkeeper.
Van de Beek’s dummy won’t show up on the stats sheet. It wasn’t a key pass or assist, but everybody who saw it would acknowledge the impact he had on the goal.
There is a case to be made that Van de Beek needs to be more confident and forceful with his game, there were a couple of occasions where he could have been quicker releasing United’s counter attack against Leicester but checked himself, rather than play a riskier pass.
The more he plays with his United teammates, the better he will understand them and the team’s style of play. His dummy for Greenwood’s goal showed he is learning how to get on the same page, and demonstrated his impressive awareness.
Van de Beek’s day ended predictably
The £39 million summer signing was substituted after an hour as part of a quadruple change. He was a bit unlucky to be taken off as he was working hard off the ball particularly to press Leicester and track back defensively.
There’s a chance the change was pre-planned regardless, with this being Van de Beek’s first game back from injury after several weeks out.
With United 2-1 down at the time, you can understand Solskjaer wanting to get his first choice players onto the pitch. It was no time to indulge Van de Beek’s feelings.
The result didn’t get better for United, although that won’t make Van de Beek feel any happier.
The Dutchman would rather have contributed to a victory than see his comeback coincide with a loss.
The defeat wasn’t his fault though. United defended poorly, lacked concentration, and Leicester’s freshness was evident.
When he reflects on his contribution, he can at least look to the positives of his role in United’s goal.
That won’t mean much in the context of defeat – but in the context of his season, it was a small step in the right direction.
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