Watch Man Utd versus West Ham live on Sky Sports this Sunday from 1pm; kickoff 2pm. Manchester United has won four of their past six games, with Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo shining. Both teenagers have stepped up for Erik ten Hag ahea dof the season’s final stretch.
Should Erik ten Hag wind up staying on at Manchester United in the long run, he might reflect on two tactical changes that this season proved to be pivotal.
The irony is that while his leadership, United spent £380 million on signings, none of the players engaged are from that pool. Rather, there are two players who come at no cost, and they have both contributed to United’s season’s survival.
The first change in November was elevating Kobbie Mainoo to a regular in the United first team. One month later, Ten Hag made the decision to start Alejandro Garnacho against Aston Villa on the right wing for the first time.
The two adolescents, who were a member of Man Utd’s FA Youth Cup-winning squad in 2022, have also contributed significant first-team moments when Ten Hag most needed them since Christmas.
While Mainoo’s incredible late goal in United’s 4-3 victory over Wolves garnered most of the attention, his overall performance on Thursday night solidified his place among this season’s standout performers.
Mainoo can read the game at one end of the pitch, as seen by his clearance and duel records. His goals against Wolves and Newport in back-to-back games demonstrate his similar effectiveness at either position.
Even though it was less obvious, moving Garnacho from left flank to right wing may have had an equal impact on United’s progress.
Garnacho scored twice as United staged an incredible 3-2 comeback victory against Villa in his first-ever right-wing start. It felt like a significant occasion in the Dutchman’s Old Trafford career because that game marked the INEOS investment’s first official visit to Ten Hag’s United.
Garnacho has also been deployed frequently on the right wing since that game, and similar to Mainoo, his stats have been particularly noteworthy.
The 19-year-old has been among the Premier League’s top 10 players for creating opportunities, challenging and outlasting his opponent, and high-press rebounds—one of Ten Hag’s main buzzwords.
Since the Argentine’s dribbling statistics have been superb all season, even when he was on the left, Garnacho has actually been making an impression below the surface for some time.
Despite playing 500 fewer minutes than Mohamed Salah, the youthful winger has generated 31 opportunities via ball carries; only Phil Foden of Man City has more than the other Premier League players combined.
Garnacho now ranks among the Premier League’s best dribblers this year, and it has opened up a United offence that had previously struggled to score goals.
Even boasting one of the league’s most inventive players in Bruno Fernandes, United had been unable to score in four straight games at the beginning of December when the young Argentine was shifted to the right flank.
However, since then, Rasmus Hojlund has three goals and two assists in his last three top-flight games, and Marcus Rashford has goals in back-to-back Premier League games. Ten Hag senses a developing relationship with his front four.
Garnacho and Mainoo, who together are 36 years old, or one Jonny Evans, have transformed United from a haphazard team to a more dependable one with a goal to strive for.
There is hope for Ten Hag after a difficult season, as they have won four of their past six games and will make an FA Cup appearance in the round of 16.
Do you recall the famous United adage, “You can’t win anything with kids”? Although United hasn’t yet claimed a victory this season, these two young players are leading the team in the right direction.
