MATCH REVIEW - MANCHESTER UNITED v COPENHAGEN FC

 -By Varun Sangwan and Hitanshu Samantray

MATCH STATS

TALKING POINTS

It was a bright start to the half for Manchester United but it slowly faded away as United looked a bit rusty in passing which led to two - three Copenhagen chances who really grew into the game.. United has the most of the possession but were'nt able to make much of it and Copenhagen asked a few questions of the Manchester United defence mainly through Darame. Towards the end of the half however, Manchester Started to kick on creating chances , some of which should have been converted. A fierce shot shot from Marcus Rashford from outside the box was probably the best opportunity the Red Devils were afforded. Just before half time United thought they had the lead when Mason Greenwood converted coolly after a good ball from Marcus Rashford but VAR intervened and it was ruled out for Offside.

The second half was purely dominated by Manchester United with them lining up attempt after attempt but to no avail. Keeper Karl Johnsson had a really good game and he equaled the record for the most saves in a Europa League game - 13 in total which included a stunning save from an Anthony Martial shot that was destined to go in. Copenhagen pushed United to extra time. Solskjaer introduced Juan Mata and United looked even more dangerous and creative. Finally Anthony Martial was brought down in the penalty area following an exclusive show of intricate passing which Bruno Fernandes scored and putting United through to the Semi-finals.

TACTICS REVIEW

Lindelof was not fit and thus Eric Bailly kept his place in the match-day squad. Interesting Fred also was picked over Nemanja Matic and looked good...

The  formation stayed the same - Solskjaer's mainly used 4-2-3-1. The team that lined up against the Danish side was : 

PLAYER RATINGS

PS : Our player ratings are relative to the best player on the pitch, so the man of the match will maybe always get a 10

GK : SERGIO ROMERO  - 6.5

Didn't really have much to do although even if Copenhagen did threaten..

LB :  - BRANDON WILLIAMS - 5.5

Poor today. He is too right footed to be a left-back. Defensively was shocking..

CB : HARRY MAGUIRE -  7

Defended weLl and helped keep a clean sheet. 

CB : ERIC BAILLY -  7

Bailly defended well but there is always an error in him which he showed when he almost gifted a chance to the opposition which Maguire and Pogba had to clean up..

RB: AARON WAN BISSAKA - 6.5

Defensively solid as always. But needs to add something to his game going forward. Misplaced a lot of passes.

CM : FRED - 8

He was brilliant in the tackle and maybe should be Matic's successor instead of McTominay as he is a little defensively inclined.

CM : PAUL POGBA - 7.5

Ran the midfield today. The amount of headers he won from Goal-kicks was brilliant and created a lot of chances..

CAM : BRUNO FERNANDES  -  8

He'll have better games but that's why this guy is special. Even when he doesn't play well, he can still make a difference.

LW: MARCUS RASHFORD - 5.5

Poor today.. Showed glimpses but will have better days...

RW: MASON GREENWOOD - 7

When presented the opportunity looked to get a shot away.. Almost gave United the lead had he been a fraction behind the line just before half time but was a great finish from him 

ST : ANTHONY MARTIAL - 9

Great movement as always. Has finally found his best position. The difference he makes to the team is phenomenal and always has something special in his locker. Could have had a hat-trick today if not for the brilliance of the Goalkeeper..

HITANSHU'S VERDICT

It was a very scrappy performance from United. We allowed too many chances and there were so many occasions when it could've been a chance too many. We saw some desperate and smart defending from Maguire and Co. but we lacked that dominating nature we were supposed to show. We did hit the woodwork a few times and were flagged offside a few times, but oh boy was Johnsson on fire tonight. The Copenhagen No. 1 pulled off some wonderful saves to deny Rashford and Martial. It took a Bruno Fernandes penalty to get us on the score sheet finally.

Overall it wasn't the rout everyone expected it to be but we could still somehow scrap a result out, and that's all that matters as of now. Things get a lot tougher from here on. With Sevilla or Wolves as the next team we face, we have a lot of work to do.

VARUN'S VERDICT

Us winning is the big thing I think today. Yeah it was not the big scoreline that everybody including myself had predicted but these players haven't played football for about 2 weeks so there was bound to be some rustiness to shake. Mata changed the game when he came on and Lindelof showed why he is picked ahead of Bailly. Lindelof has almost removed unforced errors from his game.. Bruno tried a lot but didn't have a good game. In the end he again proved to be the difference..

Martial was exquisite today.. Most people don't notice what he does off the ball. He is a great goalscorer and was absolutely brilliant today and could have had a goal or two if the keeper hadn't denied him..

Buzzin to be in the semi-finals although there is one concern.. We miss Luke Shaw way too much and if we get Wolves in our next tie, I'm terrified of what Adama Traore will do when he is faced against a not so defensively solid Brandon Williams..

MAN OF THE MATCH

ANTHONY MARTIAL  - Exquisite with his movement and won the penalty that sealed the game for us. Best player on the pitch..