Manchester United have proven the doubters wrong already

We are very early into the season but Manchester United appear to have already proven the doubters wrong when it comes to the Champions League.

Manchester United’s recent game against RB Leipzig saw the UEFA Champions League return to Old Trafford after a one year hiatus. The Red Devils won their first group stage match with a win over Paris Saint-Germain, but after a lacklustre performance over the weekend against Chelsea, it was difficult to predict what to expect from the game.

It was better than anybody could have expected though. We ended up coming away with another 3 points after a 5-0 beating of the current Bundesliga leaders.

We started the game in a 4-4-2 diamond formation, with Greenwood and Martial partnering up top, Pogba making his return to the starting XI, and Van de Beek making his first Champions League start for the club.

Greenwood opened the scoring in the 21st minute with a very well-placed finish into the bottom right corner. The first half ended 1-0 in favour of the home team. Both teams were playing well up to that point, as it looked like the game could have gone either way. Now fast forward to the second half where United’s substitutes completely altered the way things were going.

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Scott McTominay, Bruno Fernandes, Axel Tuanzebe, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford were all brought on during the second half. Fernandes was looking to get the ball as soon as he came on, which is not surprising given that he has been our most influential player since he arrived at the club last January. It was Rashford, though, who turned the game on its head.

After coming on in the 63rd minute, Rashford scored a hat-trick. His first goal was made possible by Bruno’s perfectly timed pass that allowed him to break away from the defence and slot the ball into the back of the net one-on-one with the keeper. The linesman raised his flag for offside as the ball was played in behind the defence, but he continued the play until its conclusion, which ultimately ended in a goal.

The linesman raised his flag because Rashford was beyond the last defender; HOWEVER, he was in his own half when the pass was released, and by rule a player cannot be in an offside position in their own half. It was good thinking on the part of the Englishman to finish out the play, but this is a great example as to why the linesmen are not supposed to raise their flags for offsides until the play comes to its natural conclusion with VAR in play.

Another issue with prematurely raising the offside flag is that it implies that the play is dead, which causes many players to stop dead in their tracks. The only thing that can officially rule a play dead is the main referee’s whistle. As every kid’s youth coach always shouted, “play the whistle.”

Our number 10’s second goal came from him getting in behind the defence once again and smashing the ball into the bottom left corner. Shortly after, Martial won a penalty. Instead of Rashford taking the penalty to complete his hat-trick, he unselfishly gave the ball to Martial. The Frenchman made no mistake from the spot and put the penalty into the back of the net.

This was huge for the team because it allows goals to be distributed through the attacking core, which boosts the overall goal-scoring confidence of the team. Rashford scored his hat-trick sealing goal in stoppage time with another rocket smashed past the Leipzig keeper.

This is the second Champions League match in a row where Manchester United played very well against top tier teams. When the groups were drawn, many would have thought that Solskjaer’s side were destined to drop out into the Europa League. But it is safe to say that they have proved the doubters wrong by beating both PSG and RB Leipzig already. Both of whom are leading their respective leagues at the moment.

For some reason, this form has not translated to the Premier League. Yet. If we can continue our Champions League form in the league, then we should be able to fight for a top-four finish and hopefully win some silverware along the way.