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Manchester United picked up their first win since the Premier League restart as they comprehensively dispatched Sheffield United 3-0 at home, courtesy of a first senior hat-trick from Anthony Martial.
The victory takes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side within two points of Chelsea, who are set to take on Manchester City tomorrow. The Red Devils began the game with a counter-attacking setup that worked wonders for them. They had more efforts on goal, more shots on target and an imposing influence on the break.
A brace from Anthony Martial gave the PL giants a two-goal cushion inside the first half, after which they exhibited a case of fantastic in-game management in the second 45.
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United maintained over 65% of possession in the second half and controlled proceedings by playing at a slower pace. The winger was ever-so-composed to chip the ball into the back of the net for his third goal of the afternoon. Three points were all that mattered, as they outplayed Sheffield United on both ends of the pitch.
On that note, we analyse the major talking points from the match.
#1 Change in midfield opens gaps for Manchester United
As suggested by fans and pundits alike, Manchester United started with a different midfield setup with Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba lining up alongside Bruno Fernandes. The former shifted into a third centre-half role whenever his side wherein possession, but also screened the defence in the case of a quick Sheffield breakaway.
More importantly, the duo of Pogba and Fernades remained close to each other on the pitch and exploited spaces. In the 20th minute, Matic fizzed one pass into the path of Fernandes, who played a delightful back-flick to Marcus Rashford. The Englishman played a one-two with Pogba and saw himself through on goal.
The aforementioned passage of play pretty much summed up the midfield artistry.
Time and time again, Pogba and Fernandes took turns to advance into pockets of space in between the Blades' five-man midfield. They managed to break through between channels with aplomb.
Sheffield started with most of the ball, but it was the hosts who created the best chances.
#2 United set up on the counter as Martial scores
Prior to this fixture, Manchester United had won seven of the nine games this season where they have seen under 50% of the ball. They started the exact same way against the Blades, lining up for the counter through central, narrow areas.
As many as three times inside the opening 10 minutes of the game, United cracked open the Sheffield midfield with a lot of space and time for the likes of Pogba, Rashford and Fernandes to pick their pass.
That pressure led to the opening goal, with Oliver Norwood attempting a lazy pass inside his box and in turn, gifting it to a lively Rashford. The forward took a touch and whipped it into the path of Martial, who tapped home for the opener.
#3 Blades' lack of incision results in a second for United
Sheffield grew into the match as minutes wore on, but Mason Greenwood and Martial tracked back well to help United combat the overload in wide areas. As a result, the visitors were unable to find space to pick their crosses.
More so, George Baldock and Enda Stevens struggled to add quality to their crosses. Sheffield United mustered just three shots on goal in the first half and none of them troubled David de Gea between the sticks.
But once again, right from the first touches, through passes and one-twos to the link-up and overall interchange of play, Fernandes and Pogba gelled beautifully to carve open the opposition backline throughout the game.
There were a couple of quick exchanges between the midfield pair, leading to a pass to Aaron Wan-Bissaka down the right. The young full-back had time to pick his cross, and he did so spectacularly, picking out Martial for the Frenchman's second goal.
#4 Sheffield's defensive errors cost them dearly
Sheffield United were way off-colour in the final third, as they failed to trouble de Gea at any point.
However, defensive frailties ultimately led to their downfall, much like their encounter against Newcastle United. As mentioned earlier, Norwood made a mess of a simple pass that led to the first goal. However, it was not just him at fault, as the other three white shirts around Rashford remained on their heels.
The second goal was conceded just as cheaply as the first. To begin with, Wan-Bissaka had absolutely no right to turn towards the Sheffield United goal, but Stevens allowed him to do so rather easily. During the build-up to that goal, Martial was in an offside position when Fernandes was on the ball.
There were five Sheffield bodies around him, but Basham — the closest one to him — was not tight enough with the Frenchman. None of the away team's players lunged in to make a block, and it was way too easy for Martial for claim his second.
Credit to Manchester United for their fluency during the third goal, but Rashford was given too much time to pinch it through to Martial. Sheffield were static, to say the least.
They certainly missed the services of John Egan.
#5 Greenwood is maturing as an established starter
Solskjaer may just have found his best starting XI.
Usually, it's Pogba orchestrating the innovative patterns of play, but with Fernandes' running, movement and awareness, he had the license to venture forward, freely pick out passes and have the assurance of Matic behind him.
It was great to see Greenwood down the right-wing as well, as Daniel James is not providing the goods of late.
We have already witnessed the finishing acumen of Greenwood, but the starlet was also seen running with the inverted centre-backs of Sheffield United in order to support Luke Shaw. He occupied some great positions and intercepted the ball quite a few times.
The 18-year-old did have a couple of attempts on goal that did not land in the back of the net, but there were a lot of positives from his game. The Manchester United think tank would definitely be willing to give him a run of matches down that right-hand side.
