Manchester United may well have rescued their season after two late, late goals earned them a 2-1 win over Thomas Frank’s Brentford when all hope seemed lost.
Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United have Scott McTominay to thank for his heroics as his 10-minute cameo appearance may well be his best and most important game for the Red Devils.
In the context of the league table, United remain routed in mid-table obscurity but the win, above anything, is about the psychological boost that a win like this will give.
Garth Crooks, on the BBC, has unsurprisingly named the Scottish midfielder in his team of the week but has also criticised another player, however, for his poor start to his United career.
Crooks on McTominay
The Scottish midfielder may well have rescued his United career and you wonder if this could be the moment the 26-year-old has been waiting for.
McTominay, who has been at the Old Trafford club for nearly two decades, has had to be patient for his opportunity but it seems further forward is where the Scotsman needs to be deployed.
Crooks was full of praise for the midfielder, saying: “I don’t normally select a player for my team who has only been on the pitch for 10 minutes, but when you have such a significant impact on a game it would be rude not to.
“Two goals scored and one disallowed by Scott McTominay turned what was rapidly turning into a nightmare for manager Erik ten Hag into something of a massive relief.”
Onana criticism
However, despite being full of praise for McTominay, Crooks was less impressed by United’s new goalkeeper signing Andre Onana.
It’s been a tough time for the 27-year-old since he moved to the club from Inter Milan and Crooks believes the goalkeeper isn’t on the same planet as Peter Schmeichel or David De Gea.
“Since the arrival of the Manchester United keeper, he’s been either smashing into centre-forwards, letting the ball slip through his fingers, or, as was the case against Brentford, beaten by a shot a schoolboy would have been expected to save,” Crooks said.
The Cameroon international certainly needs to improve but the criticism the goalkeeper has received so far is certainly very harsh.
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