Manchester United made it past an arrogant Blackburn Rovers who fought tooth and nail until the end. Manchester United will be happy that the match wasn’t dragged on to a replay at Old Trafford. While Blackburn deserved it, both teams had critical contributions from certain players as the match kept shifting till the final minute.
Lineups:-
Blackburn Rovers went with a simple 4-4-2 with a major focus of attack from the right through Emnes and Feeney who were given starts while the rest looked to maintain a stable midfield. Blackburn missed the presence of their joint top scorer Sam Gallagher due to a knee injury.
Manchester United made several changes to their Europa League lineup. The likes of Carrick, Lingard, Rashford, Darmian looked to make a difference while the stalwarts Ibrahimovic and Pogba would make an impact from the bench later.
A weak left-hand side
Blackburn Rovers proved to be no pushovers with a brilliant goal in the initial minutes of the game. Some brilliance from Emnes paired with a magnificent finish from Graham saw United a goal down. Marcus Rojo’s failure to keep track of his man led to the goal. Blackburn deserve due credit for focusing on United’s weaker side of defence – Darmain and Rojo(particularly tonight) as they managed to catch them off guard several times. Emnes, Feeney, and Mahoney all exploited the left flank of United but some cover-ups from the rest of the defence and Romero ensured the match would still be United’s to take.
Midfield dominance
Mkhitaryan had to work a bit harder than usual but his contribution in defence has outlined his overall effectiveness in the number 10 role. Blackburn didn’t have any time to breathe and he managed seven dribbles and a spine breaking through-ball that Rashford calmly finished off.
Source:- Whoscored.com
Ander Herrera was effective in dropping deep and troubling the opposition every now and then with a drilling cross and a pile driving shot in the process. The pairing with Pogba and Carrick was slightly different but his switch of roles was perfect.
Pogba created 3 chances including a long ball from his own half that saw United score the winner. Pogba and Ibrahimovic had more key chances than the whole of Blackburn combined
Romero heroics
United owe their win to Romero who made three stunning saves in succession in the dying minutes. Romero prevented what easily could’ve been a replay at Old Trafford and again proved his mettle as a valid backup to De Gea.
Conclusion
Some clever rotation has been working well for United so far and the return of Jones and Rooney will be welcomed as United have some key games coming up. Matteo Darmain looks like he would be sold based on his current performances as the United wingback seems to be behind his teammates in terms of performance levels. Ashley Young, on the other hand, had a pretty good game having played after so long. A crucial tackle avoided a possible trail of two goals.
