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When referee Michael Oliver blew the final whistle at Cardiff City Stadium, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lifted his hands to the skies in delight. It had turned out to be a dream start to the Norwegian’s reign as the new Caretaker Boss of Manchester United.
The night had been eventful for one more reason, it was the biggest crowd in the Cardiff City Stadium to watch a league football match in 42 years! Even though the majority of the people in attendance would not have enjoyed the game too much, the night turned out to be quite memorable for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United.
The Red Devils took a lead as early as the 3rd minute when Rashford scored from a free kick. Herrera doubled the lead in the 29th minute, before Martial scored the goal of the game 4 minutes before halftime. Lingard scored from the spot in the 57th minute and then again in the 90th minute.
United cruised comfortably to finish the game with a 5-1 scoreline, the first time they had scored 5 times in a game since Sir Alex retired. Solskjaer was a picture of contentment after full time, but he will know that he cannot get carried away just yet. However, he will remember this night for the rest of his life and for that, Solskjaer has these 5 men to thank.
#6 Victor Lindelof
The Swedish International might have been brought into the club by Jose Mourinho, but Lindelof showed no signs of discomfort playing for his new manager. In fact, Lindelof was one of the standout performers of the game and kept the Cardiff forwards totally at bay throughout the game.
He was ably aided by Phil Jones, who had one of his better games in a United shirt, but against Cardiff, Lindelof was exactly the player that had earned him a dream move to Manchester United last season.
Lindelof started the game confidently, stepping out of the defence, sticking to Paterson and denying him any room to manoeuvre any shots on target. He and Jones were so strong that while Cardiff attempted 9 shots, but only 3 of those were on target. The Welsh club scored from the spot, denying De Gea a clean sheet in Solskjaer's first game in charge. But the fact that the defence looked totally comfortable throughout the game was a testament to Lindelof rising in stature.
The Swede also ventured forward quite a few times and almost picked up an assist when he beautifully picked out Rashford in the second half, only for the youngster to fire narrowly wide. Lindelof should gather a lot of confidence from this performance and he was instrumental in securing the 3 points in Solskjaer's first game in charge.
#5 Ander Herrera
The Spaniard had been written off by both his two previous managers at Manchester United, but it is to his credit that Herrera had proved both of them wrong. Solskjaer made no such mistakes though, continuing with the intelligent midfielder to start alongside Matic and Pogba. Herrera in turn, showed his new boss his all-round abilities and gave United a very solid base to move forward from.
In the middle, the Spaniard allowed Pogba to flourish, while also joining United's attack whenever possible. His intelligence was evident in the 29th minute, when he ran into space near the box and unleashed a shot that found the back of the net, via a lucky deflection. Herrera did not rest on his laurels though, he quietly went on with his work.
He covered for Young whenever the Englishman was caught off position higher up the pitch, he ensured that Matic was never bogged down by the opposition and he did the clean up when required near his own box. He was an essential part of the midfield against Cardiff and Solskjaer should be mighty impressed with him.
#4 Jesse Lingard
Even though Lingard started from the left, he drifted inside all night, causing Cardiff all sorts of problems. His speed and movement was a nuisance, and the opposition struggled to catch hold of him.
The Englishman picked up an assist by teeing up Martial for that wonderfully crafted goal. While Lingard does not provide too much trickery and skills on the right, it is his understanding with his teammates that is crucial for Manchester United. Against Cardiff too, Lingard was in fine form, making good off the ball runs and even trying to set up the marauding Lindelof on one occasion. However, his best moments came in the second half.
He won a penalty in the 57th minute and then pushed away Pogba confidently, taking the spot kick himself and scoring. When Solskjaer decided to take off his attacking players, Lingard moved to a central striker position and his brilliant run was spotted by Pogba, who set him up to score United's 5th goal.
Lingard might not have caught the eye, but he was clinical in front of goal and contributed greatly to the win.
#3 Paul Pogba
Much had been said of the Frenchman in recent times. Many were calling for him to move on from Old Trafford because he looked lazy and unimpressive under Jose Mourinho. With a change in management, big things were expected of him, especially since Solskjaer had declared his intentions to build a team around Paul Pogba. Against Cardiff, he just showed the world why the Norwegian had directly brought him back into the team.
Pogba played with freedom, he played without inhibitions. There were no shackles on him, however, that did not mean that he did not track back. He looked extremely comfortable on the left side of the midfield, combining exquisitely with both Martial and Luke Shaw. However, it was while going forward that the Frenchman showed his class.
The trickery, change of pace, skills and turns were back, but it was not just showboating, these were used to good effect. His dummy before the Rashford free kick unsettled the defense, he set up Herrera for the second, but it was his vision for his club's third goal that showed what an important player he could be for United.
While people always question his attitude, the Frenchman showed class by agreeing to Lingard taking the spot kick. When it looked like United were losing steam, he set up Lingard for the fifth goal. Solskjaer might say he always knew about Pogba's qualities, but against Cardiff, the Frenchman looked rejuvenated and United were a far better team as a result.
#2 Luke Shaw
Bruised, battered and humiliated, few people would have survived the injustice faced by Luke Shaw under Jose Mourinho. However, the youngster showed nerves of steel to come back stronger each time. He had recently been removed from the team after a reported burst up with his previous manager, but Solskjaer brought him back immediately and Shaw showed the promise that had made him the best player at the club this season in the early stages.
He looked as comfortable going forward as tracking back and helping out his centre-backs. His desire and abilities are unquestionable, but against Cardiff, Shaw had one of the best games of the season so far. He was easily the pick of the back four and was so active in the final third that Cardiff were pegged back for most of the night.
He combined brilliantly with Martial and tried to run into the box at every opportunity. When Cardiff tried to counter, he was one of the first to close the opponent down, something that even earned him a yellow due to a mistimed tackle. Shaw capped a wonderful return to the first team, showed responsibility and should be a regular feature under Solskjaer now.
#1 Anthony Martial
Martial had taken upon himself to finally lay down the marker this season. The Frenchman had been in brilliant form recently, which ensured that United were not affected by the misfiring Lukaku and Sanchez. Solskjaer continued with Martial hugging the left side of the field, but made a few subtle alterations that allowed the Frenchman to be even more effective.
As a wonderful change, Martial no longer spent most of the time near the left back position. He did track back whenever required but mostly concentrated on testing the Cardiff defense. Another tweak saw him float around the front three, which meant that he popped up on the right on a few occasions, but it was through the middle that the Frenchman gave the moment of the game.
Picking up the ball near the halfway line, Martial raced towards the box and found Pogba in space. It kick-started a mesmerizing run involving Pogba, Lingard and Martial, who started and ended the move, scoring a contender for the goal of the season. However it was not just his goal, but his overall performance, his understanding with Shaw and Pogba on the left of the field and his confidence which showed that Martial enjoyed every moment of the game. He is Solskjaer's most potent weapon as of now and was the best player on the pitch against Cardiff.
