Birmingham, England – Erik ten Hag may have turned a corner at Manchester United, winning 2-1 at Aston Villa on Sunday, his fifth in six games, but regardless of how many big players he has available at the moment, the guy he doesn't want continues to play when the team needs it most.
No player has scored more winning goals in the final 30 minutes in Europe's major leagues this season than Scottish midfielder Scott McTominay. Ten Hag, who was willing to transfer the player to West Ham last summer, stepped up again at Villa Park after coming on as a second-half substitute.
Scott McTominay's 86th-minute header from Diogo Dalot's cross could prove to be one of the most important and important goals scored by any Ten Hag player this season. It was the third time the 27-year-old McTominay had saved United in the final half-hour of the game, and no one among his team-mates could come close to his rate of goals per 172 minutes. Rasmus Hjlund, who scored United's first goal, was second with 275 minutes per goal.
Scott [McTominay] was great," Ten Hag said after the game. 'He can score a lot of goals. He's always able to score goals. We had problems, it was too much like tennis, we had problems on the counter-attack, but we knew Scott was going to get into the box and he could score. ”
By turning a draw into a victory, Scott McTominay rekindled Manchester United's hopes of breaking into the top four of the season and qualifying for the Champions League. Manchester United are six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham and five behind Villa, and after taking all three points on Sunday, the gap would certainly be too big to close without this victory.
Finishing in the top four may still be an impossible challenge for Manchester United. Their chaotic and less satisfying form so far this season is summed up by the fact that, after 24 games, they are now finally getting rid of a negative goal difference, which after this win, has a goal difference of zero. To illustrate this, leaders Liverpool have a goal difference of plus 32.
Incredibly, despite having nine defeats in the league, United still have a chance to finish in the top four. In the darkest days of his team's defeats to Nottingham Forest, West Ham United and Bournemouth, as well as finishing bottom of the Champions League group stage, Ten Hag has repeatedly said things will be different once his injured players return to action.
Players such as Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw are his top picks. All three returned last month and since the start of January, United have won five games and drawn one. However, Martinez has since been injured and the former Ajax defender is set to rest for eight weeks with a knee ligament injury, while Luke Shaw was substituted in the first half against Villa, a decision that Ten Hag described as a "precautionary measure". However, United have weathered Villa Park without those two players, perhaps because of improved results and morale, giving United the strength to win games they could have lost earlier in the season.
Other aspects have played a role in Ten Hag. Højlund finally got into goalscoring form, breaking his Premier League goal drought at home to Villa on 26 December. The goal at Villa Park was his fifth consecutive Premier League goal. 18-year-old midfielder Kobe Manu has been part of the squad since his debut at the end of November.
As a result, Ten Hag is starting to enjoy some consistency in terms of squad selection and the results are improving, but there is no doubt that United are in a lucky form at Villa and they remain a work in progress. Marcus Rashford was substituted on 73 minutes and his decisions close to goal often disappointed him. Casemiro found it difficult to cope with the dynamic midfielders against Villa, with Darlow exposed on the right by Alejandro Garnacho's lack of defensive discipline. Against top teams, United run the risk of being pressed by their opponents in midfield. Their waste in front of goal could take its toll, but it could help in the European game as it could save energy by reducing the workload of Ten Hag's injured players.
With 14 games remaining, United's task is clear, and they have at least given themselves a chance to pull off a surprising comeback.
It's a big win for us," Ten Hag said. "We're closer to the goal, and that's the goal today. That's definitely our goal and we did it. ”