Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made a big call selecting Dean Henderson against his former club on Thursday night.
Henderson let himself down early on as United conceded after just five minutes.
He took one touch too many in his own six-yard box and was made to pay as he was dispossessed and Sheffield United took the lead.
United won the game 3-2 and Henderson’s mistake ended as a footnote to the match, rather than the lead story.
To his credit, Henderson came straight out after the game and addressed the mistake.
He thanked his teammates for coming back to win the game, with Marcus Rashford (2) and Anthony Martial on the scoresheet.
Teammate Harry Maguire responded to Henderson’s message, writing, ‘great response’.
Henderson produced a diving save in injury time to ensure United got the win.
Maguire had a hand in the conceded goal too. The captain passed the ball back to Henderson rather than clear it up the pitch.
This was a result of a desire to play out from the back, but United did it a little too near to goal.
This was a moment to learn from, for Henderson and the entire defence.
With a Leeds side up next who are strong at pressing, playing out from defence will be asking for trouble, and United will need to change approach.
Most likely we will see David de Gea return for this fixture.
- Who is Dante Plunkett? Man Utd youngster earns call-up for 2026 CONCACAF U20 Championship
- Alex Scott will achieve a childhood dream if he signs for Man United this summer
- Marcus Rashford cannot be Man United’s No.9, fans have seen that experiment fail already
- Man Utd squad for Super Cup NI announced – Five academy players to watch and key dates
- How Man Utd replaced Ed Woodward’s commercial vanity with football sanity in the transfer market
- The six worst Manchester United transfer windows ever, including one under Sir Alex Ferguson
- What Tynan Thompson’s Manchester United transfer means for academy wonderkid Noah Ajayi
- Alex Scott’s contract standoff should not prompt Man Utd mega-bid, Bryan Robson agrees
- Tynan Thompson is already being fast-tracked by Man Utd, Michael Carrick clearly rates him highly
- Marcus Rashford will have a new Man United role involving Tynan Thompson when he returns
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
