Partizan Belgrade 0-1 Manchester United: 3 Talking Points

Manchester United registered their first away win since they beat Paris Saint-Germain in last season's Champions League Round of 16, second leg. Their 1-0 win against Partizan Belgrade will perhaps feel unreal even to them. Manchester United did not appear to be in control at any point during the tie.

Both sides struggled to get a foothold in the game at the start, but United's midfield was often so open that Partizan were able to play through with ease and United were mostly saved by the fact that the movement was so chaotic that it put off the home team's play. Asano and Soumah looked particularly threatening for the home side but not really creating too many goalscoring chances.

Both teams would then go on to hit the post within the space of a few minutes before Brandon Williams was brought down in the box and Antony Martial dispatched the penalty to give his side the lead.

The second half was a completely different proposition. The brief to Partizan was clear, that they had manchester united at their mercy and that they had a chance not only to claw back that lead but maybe also get something more from the game. The result, though, never materialised as they were left to rue what may have been at the end of the game.

#1 Partizan Frustrated, Manchester United Fortunate

Martial had a poor showing but converted from the spot to hand his side the win

While it was all-in-all a frustrating night for the home team and their supporters, they will feel particularly aggrieved with some of the decisions that weren't given in their favour. They had three penalty shouts in the second half alone that were denied. Two of which clearly struck a Manchester United player's hand in play but the home team were denied.

McTominay and Williams were lucky that their perhaps unintentional handballs weren't caught by the on-field referee. Had Partizan breached the Manchester United goal once from the spot, the story of the game might have been different.

#2 Unlikely Heroes for Manchester United

Phil Jones seemed much-improved playing in the centre-back role

The Red Devils find themselves in a peculiar transitional phase where nothing they do seems to be able to shake off this rot that has settled into the team. Although their performance on the day was very much in keeping with that trend, there were signs of life from a few unlikely sources which will give hope to the Manchester United faithful.

Brandon Williams, in particular, was sublime both defensively and going forward. He did really well once Marcus Rashford came onto the pitch and provided an outlet on the left as well. One that could truly be considered as Luke Shaw's deputy in the left-back position at United.

James Garner had a decent showing in the centre of the park with Scott McTominay who also was able to cut out plenty of the threat through the middle. Although they both seemed to be working individually, rather than as a unit.

Another surprise was Phil Jones who was perhaps the better of the three centre-backs on the pitch. He struggled a bit playing on the right, but once he moved into a central position, he showed some good anticipation and actively shut down danger.

#3 No movement off the ball

Martial showed few signs of willingness to run off the ball

There were plenty of chances for the likes of Daniel James, Antony Martial, and Jesse Lingard to make runs in behind and ask the likes of Juan Mata and perhaps Scott McTominay to find them. Yet, the runs off the ball were almost non-existent.

While United struggled to maintain any sort of structure in midfield, it may seem harsh to criticise the forwards of not making runs. However, even when Williams or Mata found themselves in some space, no runners were available.

It's been a feature of Manchester United's play that they will want to iron out as soon as possible but until Marcus Rashford entered the fray, United didn't look like offering anything upfront for the midfielders. Even Jesse Lingard who once loved to run past the striker to make incisive runs seems hesitant to commit in attack.