With the dust having settled on Thursday night’s Europa League clash away at Real Sociedad, it’s hard to know what to make of Manchester United’s display, with a largely positive performance having been somewhat overshadowed by a familiar sense of Deja vu late on.
It must be said that a far more competent United side could have already had the tie wrapped up, with the Red Devils once again coming up short in the final third, prior to Joshua Zirkzee’s opener just before the hour mark.
Even that sweeping, stroked effort from the Dutchman epitomised the at times casual nature of the away side’s forward play, with Ruben Amorim’s men lacking that real ruthless cutting edge even when firmly in control, as Alejandro Garnacho notably lashed two efforts into the side netting from the angle.
Predictably in this dismal season of woe, the Old Trafford outfit were made to pay for that profligacy as Mikel Oyarzabal converted from the penalty spot to level proceedings. The hosts almost inflicted even more misery in the closing stages, only for Orri Oskarsson to inexplicably poke his attempt wide.
Thankfully, the scoreline remains level ahead of Thursday’s reverse fixture, albeit with Amorim left with key selection decisions to ponder…
Man Utd's worst performers vs Sociedad
While Bruno Fernandes can feel aggrieved to have been penalised for a somewhat harsh handball call that led to Oyarzabal’s equaliser, it must be said that the Portuguese playmaker was far from at his brilliant best on the night.
Not only did the 30-year-old fail to offer his usual attacking verve, after registering just a solitary key pass, but he was also caught out at times defensively, after being dribbled past on three occasions in the centre of the park.
Elsewhere, it also proved to be a frustrating outing for Fernandes’ compatriot, Diogo Dalot, with the 25-year-old full-back coming under fire for failing to pick out Rasmus Hojlund in the first half, a decision that even his manager described as “not the best”.
As for Hojlund himself, it was hard to doubt the Dane’s endeavour on this occasion as he tirelessly worked the channels, although the 22-year-old particularly faded from view as the game progressed, with the lack of a suitable alternative on the bench seemingly not helping matters.
Having failed to register 17-year-old, Chido Obi, for the competition, Hojlund will have to remain the go-to striker moving forward, albeit with Amorim certainly needing more from a player who hasn’t scored since mid-December, as he also lost the ball eight times from just 19 touches on the night.
In the case of the former Atalanta man, Amorim’s hands were tied in a sense due to the club’s depleted bench, yet the same cannot be said for Hojlund’s international teammate, Patrick Dorgu, with the 20-year-old perhaps fortunate not to have been withdrawn at some stage.
Patrick Dorgu's game in numbers vs Sociedad
Mixed would be the word to describe Dorgu’s start to life in Manchester.
Performance in Numbers
Subbed at half-time against Leicester City in the FA Cup, the former Lecce man then put in a lively display away at Goodison Park, with Amorim subsequently stating that the wing-back is “going to be a very good player for us now and in the future”.
Unfortunately for Dorgu, that was followed by a chaotic showing against Ipswich Town as he teed up the visitors’ opener before being dismissed just before the break, with that early red forcing him to sit out Sunday’s FA Cup tie at home to Fulham.
Having been reinstated for the trip to San Sebastian, there were signs of life from the £30m man again down the left flank as he regularly looked to get forward, albeit while having been found desperately lacking with regard to his end product.
Much like his compatriot, Hojlund, it is hard to criticise the defender’s work rate as he frequently bombed up and down the wing, although he failed to pick out a teammate with any of his three crosses, having lost the ball on 19 occasions.
That corroborates the verdict of the Daily Express’ Alex Turk, who handed the defender a 5/10 match rating, while also writing that Dorgu was ‘so often an attacking outlet for United down the left flank but wasn’t hitting the sweet spot with his crossing.’
90 minutes
52 touches
66% pass accuracy
1 key pass
0/3 crosses completed
0/1 long balls completed
0/2 successful dribbles
1 big chance created
3/8 ground duels won
1/2 aerial duels won
19x possession lost
While his tally of 52 touches was even more than influential goalscorer, Zirkzee (45), Dorgu did only record a 66% pass accuracy rate, while also struggling in a defensive sense after winning just four of his ten total duels.
There certainly remains reason to be optimistic surrounding United’s January arrival, yet perhaps Dorgu might have benefitted from being replaced when he started to tire, with teenage sensation, Harry Amass, waiting in the wings to make his ‘long overdue’ first-team debut, as per journalist George Smith.
While throwing on a 17-year-old for his first taste of senior football may have been a real gamble, it did look as if United were in need of fresher legs as Sociedad wrestled back control, having been left hanging on in the final throes of the game.
Senior options are, frankly, desperately limited at present, yet with games coming thick and fast, Amorim may need to start trusting his academy talents – like Amass – sooner rather than later.
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