Cardiff City 1-5 Manchester United: 3 takeaways

Manchester United made a resounding start under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, beating Cardiff City 1-5, notching their biggest win this season so far.

Marcus Rashford opened the scoring with an excellent free-kick in the 3rd minute of the match, and Ander Herrera doubled the lead with a shot from outside the penalty box, before Rashford conceded an unnecessary penalty. However, Anthony Martial again put United ahead by 2 goals, with a strike just before half time.

United scored 2 goals in the second half through Jesse Lingard to record a memorable win, and kick-start Solskjaer’s campaign in emphatic fashion. They now have 29 points from 18 matches, and should be hoping to build upon their solid start under the new manager.

We take a look at 3 talking points from the match.

#1 Paul Pogba was given the freedom to attack, and made very good use of it

Pogba was given more freedom to venture into the opposition half, and made very good use of it. Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic played as the holding midfielders, and therefore Pogba did not have to worry about falling back to his own half too often.

As a result, he could attack more, and was directly involved in a couple of goals scored by United. His quick one-touch pass found Lingard inside the Cardiff penalty box, who then passed the ball to Martial, who in turn scored.

In the second half, Pogba played a brilliant through-ball to Lingard, who dribbled past the goalkeeper to score the 5th goal for his team. Pogba had taken a shot at Cardiff’s goal too, but the goalkeeper made a brilliant save to deny him. This was Pogba’s 21st match of the season, and he seemed to justify his price-tag.

Pogba was also everywhere in the Cardiff half yesterday. He switched to the flanks at times to collect the ball and create moves, and he also played some very quick passes to open up gaps in the Cardiff defence.

If he keeps playing like this, United are sure to improve their position on the league table.

#2 United’s defence looked solid

United’s defence has not been very solid this season, as they have let in 30 goals in the Premier league this season. However, they looked in much better shape against Cardiff.

If Rashford had not handled the ball inside the box, they might have been able to keep a clean sheet. Matic and Herrera’s presence inside their own half ensured that their defence was properly shielded. Matic was very reliable while defending set-pieces as well.

Victor Lindelof had a great match as one of United’s centre-backs. He closed down spaces very well, and thwarted the Cardiff attacks with reasonable assurance. His pace did not allow the Cardiff forwards any space in United’s defensive third.

Phil Jones was also good in central defence, but will have to make sure he does not venture into the opposition half too often. However, it was a much improved defensive display by United overall.

#3 United lacked a right-sided midfielder

This has been United’s shortcoming throughout the season so far. Anthony Martial has been one of the better players for them, as he prefers to cut in from the left wing. He also scored his 9th goal of the season yesterday.

However, they have lacked a similar attacking threat on their right-flank. Lingard has been tried as a right-winger, but he is more comfortable playing as a central midfielder. Rashford too has played on the right wing at times, but prefers to be the centre-forward.

United started the match with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Rashford as the lone striker, and Lingard and Martial as the wide midfielders, but their formation kept changing to a 4-4-2 whenever they had possession, as Martial started to move inside and partner Rashford in the attack.

Lingard dropped to the midfield, but could not make those vital forays through the right flank. As a result, United were dependent on right-back, Ashley Young, to attack via their right flank. Solskjaer could think of signing a genuine right-sided midfielder like Marco Asensio or Gareth Bale to solve this problem.