The two players replaced at half-time must already be sat on the bench worrying about their place in the team. Shaw looks the more complete left-back than Malacia at the moment and he has to be starting, while Rashford is looking sharper than Sancho, who had a disappointing first half and jogged back for the goal, something that might not have escaped Ten Hag’s attention.
I was just writing how a corner is cause for celebration from Omonia fans but they even botched that. That they are one of the worst teams you could watch and not be losing. That they’ve survived for half-an-hour and creating any kind of a chance might have given them some hope from the corner. But that they do appear utterly harmless.
And then they go 1-0 up. Malacia, retained after the derby, has not justified it with that error. He’s been sloppy a few times at each end in this game, too. The goal was reminiscent of Demba Ba scoring for Basaksehir.
But this is on the forwards not finishing. To have been this dominant and now behind is utterly embarrassing for United. Somehow, it’s still 0-0. Omonia are poorer and more porous than Sheriff and United only need to be a bit more incisive with their end product.
They must have had close to 80% of the ball and Ten Hag has little to complain about down below us. Unlike Lennon, who is trying to mould a defensive shape out of his players.