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Manchester United thrashed Tranmere Rovers 6-0 in a one-sided FA Cup fourth round match at Prenton Park on Sunday. In an extremely lop-sided match, United led 5-0 at the half time, and added one more goal in the second half.
Harry Maguire, Diogo Dalot, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial, Phil Jones and Mason Greenwood scored for the Red Devils as Tranmere Rovers did not have a clue as to how to stop the Manchester United juggernaut. The capacity crowd at the home of the League Two side were disappointed to see their team being outclassed by the Premier League giants.
We would now take a look at the three things we got to know from yesterday’s match:
#1 Manchester United played more directly on a soggy pitch
On a soggy pitch that was not conducive for high-quality football, United were more direct in their approach. They started with a 3-5-2 formation, and their defenders and midfielders contributed immensely to the attacks. Tranmere Rovers defended with 10 men at times, and only Morgan Ferrier made some runs at the United defence for the hosts.
Nemanja Matic, United’s defensive midfielder, was very assertive in his approach, and played some vital forward passes. He also made some good interceptions in the middle third. Andreas Perreira toiled hard, but could not create much for United. Greenwood, who started in the midfield, did not have much impact on the game either.
As the Tranmere players blocked their penalty area, United tried their luck by shooting from the edge of the penalty box. Maguire, Lingard, Dalot and Martial scored their respective goals in this fashion. Manchester United did not waste time by playing unnecessary passes in the midfield and scored their first three goals between the 10th and 20th minute of the match.
#2 United defenders got their names on the scoresheet
Maguire, the most expensive defender in the world, broke the deadlock for United with a rasping right-footer from outside the Tranmere Rovers penalty box. He could have passed the ball to any of his teammates, but decided to test the Tranmere goalkeeper, and succeeded in beating him. It was his first goal for Manchester United in 32 matches.
Dalot, who started as the right wing-back, also found the net from the edge of the penalty box, as his angular shot beat the Tranmere defence. In the dying minutes of the first half, Jones headed in from a corner to get his name on the scoresheet.
Maguire, Jones and Victor Lindelof started as the three central defenders for Manchester United, and only Jones stayed back in his own half for the majority of the first half. Maguire and Lindelof spent the most of the first half in the opposition half, as Tranmere could hardly make any attacking move. As a result, the United defenders had a field day, and a few of them scored as well.
#3 Manchester United were less intense in the second half and made some substitutions
After the tireless onslaught in the first half, United shifted gear in the second half, and were less intense in their attacks. They could not score more than a goal after the break as Tranmere came out of their shell, and made some attacks into the Manchester United half.
However, Tranmere did not succeed in finding the back of the net, with Greenwood increasing the Red Devils' lead by converting a penalty in the 56th minute.
Thereafter, United made some substitutions as Fred and Brandon Williams came in for Matic and Maguire respectively. United reduced the intensity of their attacks as Tranmere Rovers tried to salvage some pride by scoring a goal. However, their efforts were not good enough, and United carved out their biggest victory of the season so far.
It was a morale-boosting win for Manchester United after two successive defeats in the Premier League. With Sir Alex Ferguson watching from the stands, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could not have hoped for a better performance from his team.
