Manchester United showed the mettle of old when they broke through Hull City’s spirited resistance in stoppage time for a win at the KCOM Stadium. United had taken the initiative for the larger part of the match, and were especially dominant in the second half of their Premier League encounter.
Hull’s strategy of hustling Jose Mourinho’s side in the initial stages and then retreating deeper into their territory later in the game came agonizingly close to paying dividends, but United’s teenage sensation Marcus Rashford finally broke their resistance.
We take a look at the talking points from the match :
#1 Hull won’t go down without a fight
Most pundits and fans predicted Hull City to finish bottom of this year’s Premier League table. They were a club in disarray with ownership issues and had barely made any moves in a transfer market in which every team seemed to be splashing the cash.
It didn’t help that they were facing champions Leicester and Manchester United as well as an away game at Swansea in their opening 3 fixtures. But they’ve ended up giving a brilliant account of themselves and despite the late disappointment against United will be delighted in having 6 points on the board already.
It could provide an invaluable platform for the players to believe that they can stay up, and perhaps even thrive.
#2 Marcus Rashford must start United’s next game
It’s a reminder of how beautifully unconventional and unpredictable football can be, that in a team full of stars an 18-year-old can come on and immediately look like the most lively player on the pitch. Marcus Rashford was full of endeavour when he came on, and soon forced Hull’s goalkeeper into his best save of the match.
His eventual goal might have only been a tap in, but he had earned it with his performance off the bench. Anthony Martial hasn’t looked his best for United in recent times, and Juan Mata has been better but still unspectacular. Surely Rashford deserves to start the next game, at least.
#3 Curtis Davies has the game of his life
It’s hardly an exaggeration to say that for 90 minutes, Curtis Davies blocked everything that Manchester United threw at him. He was in Rooney’s way to prevent a goal-bound shot in the 37th minute, and he flew out to stop Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s effort in the 82nd minute as well.
He had an absolutely storming game, making interceptions, winning aerial battles and didn’t deserve to be on the losing end of the match. Football can be a cruel game sometimes though, and Davies will wonder how his performance didn’t end up winning his side a point.
On the plus side, Hull City should be thrilled to have their 31-year-old captain in such fine form. They’re going to hope he can replicate this performance as many times this season as he possibly can.
#4 Paul Pogba is not being played in his best position
Paul Pogba has been fairly imperious in his two league games for United. He’s clocked up the passes, shown his physicality in midfield and for the most part strutted around the field with his trademark swagger. And if he even were to play in the two in midfield for the rest of his United career, he would do a pretty good job.
But that’s surely not why United shattered the world transfer record to sign the exquisitely talented Frenchman and it’s not a role that Pogba is going to be thrilled with either. In the match against Hull, he took at least three extremely speculative shots from a long way out, that illustrated how keen he is to attack the opposition goal.
Mourinho had been insistent on Pogba’s signature for a long time, having also tried to sign him at Chelsea. Now that he has him, he must figure out how to get the best out a player that contributed the most assists in Serie A last year.
#5 Manchester United’s defense looks well organized
So many different players have played across United’s backline in recent years but it finally seems they’re finding a settled back 4 under Jose Mourinho. Eric Bailly still seems a little rash at times, but there’s no doubting he’s a very good defender and brilliant at reading the game.
Daley Blind has put in some great shifts at center back, and along with Bailly, was quick to sniff out any Hull City attacks. Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia also form a great pair down the flanks and United have now kept clean sheets in two consecutive games.
The feeling is that there is plenty more to come.
