Betis suffered. But not everything went smoothly.
On the verge of collapse
Under other conditions, the meeting between Manchester United and Betis would be perceived as a completely normal play-off match, where there is a clear favorite, but the possibility of a misfire is not excluded, as is regularly the case with the best clubs in the the Europa League. However, the unprecedented defeat Manchester United against Liverpool with the score 0-7, which happened a few days ago, created a completely different context for the match against Sevilla. United were waiting for a reaction.
And she seemed to follow immediately. “Manchester” from the first minutes pounced on “Betis”, demonstrating the very charge that everyone was thinking about. Already in the sixth minute, Rashford opened the scoring, scoring his 18th goal in the 22nd match for Manchester United after the World Cup. Marcus’ great form hasn’t gone away. But then the problems started.
It seems that Manchester, who started the match famously, began to doubt, began to think about whether it was worth continuing to fly to Betis in this mode, or whether it would be better to play more rationally and calmly, trying to capture the enemy, now forced to open up, on the counterattack. The idea may seem strange, considering that since Manchester United everyone was waiting for a turn and a break. But on the other hand, the team has just received a painful humiliation, and Betis is not just a Spanish tourist, but the fifth club in La Liga who can punish if they get carried away with rehabilitation for Anfield.
These doubts began to be reflected in the game. Seviltsy, if not intercepting the initiative, then further and further removed the action from his own gates and brought it closer to De Gea’s gates. And David himself became a kind of personification of those very doubts and hesitations. Especially after Ayose Perez, with a chic shot from the edge of the box, re-established the level score. It was a critical moment for United, after which Ten Hag’s wards could reach another peak.
Perez himself could soon double up when the ball flew over the crossbar after his shot and rebounded. This was preceded by a blunder by De Gea, who threw the ball to the nervous Betis player and made him think about the conditions under which the club should renew his contract with him. But there wasn’t much time left before the break and United matched up with no further upset. There was an opportunity to exhale and receive the necessary instructions from Ten Hag.
redemption time
The coach not only gathered the necessary words, but also made some changes to the squad, replacing Dalot on the right in defense with Wan-Bissaka. The change didn’t seem obvious, but Aaron spent most of his time attacking from the moment he came on until the final whistle and helped Manchester United create a common pressure front without subsidence. Often he and Shaw, full-backs, found themselves together in attack in the center in front of a free-kick from others. “Betis” could not raise his head.
Throughout the second half, United played exactly as expected of him, trying to score and finish off the opponent at any score, without reducing the intensity of the pressure and not giving in to dedication in any part of the field. Perhaps such a transformation would not have happened if Anthony had not succeeded early in the second half with a brilliant top nine goal, created by himself and his skill. He returned to “Manchester” the confidence lost in the first half, restoring psychological calm.
And very fittingly six minutes later came the second goal in Fernandes’ performance. By the way, it was important for him to score in this game. After all, Bruno, who has recently been exalted as the main hope and protagonist of the new Manchester Unitedafter the match with Liverpool, he became the most hated and discussed player in the team, trying his hand at the unenviable role of Paul Pogba.
Consolidation of success
In the second half of the match Manchester United he destroyed Betis and could even score eight goals to mathematically atone for the defeat against Liverpool. Although everyone is well aware that this will have to be done more than one or two games. In the first half, Betis had five shots on goal and only one in the entire second half. Manchester had nine hits in the first half and 16 in the second, total dominance. An Anthony could add at least a couple more to his chic goal.
But in the end, everyone was rewarded according to merit and diligence. Anthony also scored by him, Fernandes and Rashford. Weghorst remained, who worked hard, strained the defence, broke his lineups, but failed to score everything. At the end of the meeting, McTominay and Pellistri, who had just come off the bench, helped him do it. The last one was particularly impressive. The 21-year-old Uruguayan brilliantly showed himself in three matches for the national team at the World Cup. But for Manchester United he entered the field for only the fifth time. And immediately after receiving the ball, he did not return a safe pass, which prompted himself, but circled around the edge of the penalty area and gave way in front to McTominay, whose Bravo shot saved Weghorst’s leg , and he already marked.
So United not only went on the right path of correction, but each member of this club stepped forward in their own way, working hard. Ten Hag, who sat in his hat throughout with a scowl as if he were running through his head through Liverpool’s seven goals, deftly made substitutions and worked with the team at half-time. Fernandes proved that the match against Liverpool is nothing more than a breakdown which is not something ordinary. The strike group has proven to be in perfect order and set on objectives, even if they have to work on carrying them out. The entire central zone, led by Casemiro and the central defenders, showed an excellent performance, focus and concentration in the fight to the last. We already talked about Shaw and Wan-Bissaka above.
Here’s how you should react to big failures. Yes, the match with Betis was not ideal, a raw nerve arose in it, the shadow of fear of a misfire again flashed before the heroes of the story. But without this nuanced tinge, the game wouldn’t have been as full of emotion as fans demanded. Manchester United.
