Manchester United completed the Europa League league phase on Thursday night against FCSB in Romania.
It was a miserable night in Romania which left Ruben Amorim with plenty of reasons to smile, securing a third straight win.
With a top eight and round of 16 spot on the line, Manchester United enjoyed a dominant evening and a 2-0 victory over FCSB.
Diogo Dalot opened the scoring in the second half, with Kobbie Mainoo brilliantly grabbing the assist.
It then didn’t take long for United to finish the game off, with Mainoo scoring a second which was assisted by Alejandro Garnacho.
Amorim got his desired result and it means United will skip the play-offs, handing the head coach a valuable week off to work with the team on the training ground.
Kobbie Mainoo shines as a No.10
One intriguing aspect of the team on Thursday was that United had Mainoo playing further forward in one of the two No.10 positions.
The gamble from Amorim paid off, with Mainoo grabbing a goal and an assist in the game – his first of either this season – which suggests he has found himself a new position within Amorim’s system.
Mainoo’s footwork and link-up play was a game changer for United as he proved his worth to United. Hopefully, we see more of him in this role going forward.
Alejandro Garnacho changes the game for United
While rumours around Garnacho’s future persist, the Argentine has played like a player on the verge of an exit.
Introduced at half-time in place of Tyrell Malacia, Garnacho instantly turned the game on his head with direct running and introducing a threat which was non-existent in the first-half.
Garnacho assisted the second goal of the game as he continued to show Ineos that selling him could be a huge mistake. Surely United keep him now.
Patrick Dorgu cannot arrive soon enough
The first-half was a hard watch, with Tyrell Malacia struggling down the left and quite clearly the weak point of the team. Amorim noticed this and hooked the Dutchman at half-time.
Dalot was an improvement as he got his goal, but really this game just hammered home the need for Patrick Dorgu to make the left wing-back role his own.
United’s big January signing will undergo his medical at the weekend and his arrival cannot come soon enough for Amorim, it could become a game-changer very quickly.
Lisandro Martinez becoming a creative outlet
With Lisandro Martinez’s role in this 3-4-2-1, the Argentine is granted plenty of freedom to use the ball and get forward.
We have seen Martinez’s brilliant passing in recent weeks, and against FCSB he was once again a real creative outlet for United.
Martinez was regularly finding balls in behind which really should have resulted in United taking the lead if only the finishing had been better.
- READ MORE: Who is Lisandro Martinez? Step inside the life of Manchester United’s tenacious Argentine
Manchester United secure their last 16 spot
It always looked likely, but now it’s official that United will be in the last 16 and get that all-important bye for the play-off stage.
Amorim has spoken about the importance of this, as it lessens the game-load on his squad which has been run into the ground over the past few months.
This performance as a whole was among the best we’ve seen from Amorim’s United, especially the second-half with utter dominance. However we cannot get carried away with a win here, much more will be learnt on Sunday against Crystal Palace.
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