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The save following a head-to-head clash between Issa Diop and Anthony Martial gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer time to train head-to-head with Donny van de Beek. Solskjaer was lively and seemed to demand more urgency. Michael Carrick also stepped aside. Whatever the message, it didn’t get through.
Van de Beek was substituted against West Ham at half-time in the Premier League game two months ago and lasted longer on Tuesday night, at least. It was yet a more heartwarming evening for the 23-year-old in his brief Manchester United career than at London Stadium on December 5, still his last league start.
From the first moments, Van de Beek was at odds with his teammates and Carrick had to stick him out for getting lost in the right backcourt. Van de Beek politely advised Fred to pass faster at the start of the first half, but towards the end of it, Mason Greenwood let out the frustration.
Viewers didn’t have to wait for ’34’ to appear on the board to find out that Van de Beek’s count was on the rise when Solskjaer finally called Bruno Fernandes in the 72nd minute. Van de Beek, 23, is unfortunate enough to be compared to the phenomenal Fernandes due to their playmaking status and Solskjaer will have to change tactics with United’s big summer acquisition.
Van de Beek would have done better to operate in one of the deep midfield roles occupied by Fred and Nemanja Matic. It was too cautious and Solskjaer admitted that by hooking up Matic for Scott McTominay’s goal at the same time, Van de Beek was giving way. The strikeout winner from McTominay has scored his seventh goal of the campaign. Van de Beek is still on one.
In September, October and November, it was a question of why Solskjaer does not play Van de Beek? In December, January and now February, why would Solskjaer play Van de Beek? It’s a change, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s comparisons are redundant. Mkhitaryan took three months to start.
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“I thought in the first half we and Donny played very well,” said Solskjaer. “We created spaces, there were one or two where he was part of that. He did his job in an orderly fashion, he had half a chance when Alex [Telles] gave it back to him.
“Of course in the second half the whole team fell a bit and we just wanted to make a few changes.”
Van de Beek’s recall coincided with the start of Paul Pogba’s dismissal with a thigh injury that could deprive United of the Frenchman for the remainder of February. There is a school of thought that Van de Beek could thrive if or when Pogba left in the summer, which would give Solskjaer the power to reassign Van de Beek to the # 6 or # 8 role that Pogba primarily operates in.
The caveat is that Van de Beek has started in a midfield line just three times for United.
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