One Manchester United player named in BBC Team of the Week, with two criticised as ‘off the pace’

Add as preferred source on Google

Victor Lindelof stepped up as an unlikely hero with Manchester United needing to break the deadlock against a resolute Luton Town side.

Newly promoted Luton showed a week earlier they were beginning to acclimatise to the Premier League by holding Liverpool to a draw, and almost beat them.

The Hatters proved to be tricky opponents for Manchester United too, with just a single goal separating the two teams, and this needed to come via the unlikely foot of Victor Lindelof, scoring his first of the 2023/24 season.

Lindelof was outstanding defensively too, and so it is unsurprising that following his performance, the Swede has had a lot of praise come his way.

Victor Lindelof praised

Victor Lindelof was the one Manchester United player selected in the BBC Team of the Week, per the selection of Garth Crooks.

Crooks told BBC Sport: “An unsung hero ensured United avoided a rather embarrassing draw. Lindelof appears to be one of those players who has come to United’s rescue before – and he did it again against Luton.”

Would it have been embarrassing if Manchester United had been held at home? Yes, it would have felt that way, but the over-riding emotion would have been one of frustration.

United have struggled to beat teams all season. Luton at home was one fixture you looked at and thought it might be an easier ride. It wasn’t, and the team had to battle from the very first whistle to the last.

Lindelof ensured there was a reward at the end of the hard work, and after coming away from the midweek game in Copenhagen feeling a little robbed, a win, any way possible, was desperately needed.

Two Manchester United players criticised

While praising matchwinner Victor Lindelof, BBC analyst Garth Crooks named two Manchester United players he was unimpressed by.

He said: “The home side seemed a bag of nerves. Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho appeared well off the pace and low in confidence.”

Both players were wasteful, missing opportunities, although to his credit, Garnacho managed to create three chances, more than any player on the pitch, and he was substituted off in the 68th minute.

The problem is a lack of goals, with Rashford and Garnacho netting once each all season in all competitions. The longer their droughts go on, with neither netting a club goal since September, the more their confidence will be impacted.