Ten Hag reviews Man Utd's Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace
In November 2022, Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag turned to desperate measures. The Red Devils desperately needed another goal against Real Sociedad to finish top of their Europa League group on goal difference, and the Dutchman turned to none other than maligned centre-back Harry Maguire.
Maguire sheepishly made his way to the wrong end of the pitch, taking up a position alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford. United led through Alejandro Garnacho’s early goal but needed one more to qualify for the knockout rounds as group winners, thus receiving a more favourable draw.
And Ten Hag believed that the man to get the goal was Maguire. That was despite the United boss having more natural forwards available.
Express Sport looks at who was snubbed in favour of putting the England man on as a makeshift centre-forward…
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Alejandro Garnacho
Garnacho had scored the only goal of the game, collecting Ronaldo’s pass before clinically scoring his first senior strike. And so it was bizarre that Ten Hag opted to take off the in-form forward for Maguire.
Perhaps the former Ajax boss wanted a more direct target to hit long passes forward to, with Maguire a more imposing figure than the diminutive winger.
Garnacho, 19, remains one of United’s brightest prospects, despite some criticism from Ten Hag about his contribution when his side are out of possession. The Argentina youth international scored his first goal of the season in the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Tuesday.
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Anthony Elanga
A favourite of caretaker boss Ralf Rangnick, Anthony Elanga never fulfilled his potential at Old Trafford. Despite starting and providing an assist in Ten Hag’s first victory – a 2-1 triumph over Liverpool – he was used scarcely by the 53-year-old and departed on a permanent basis in the summer.
The winger’s 16 Premier League appearances last season were spread across just 418 minutes of football – the equivalent of four-and-a-half matches. Elanga was left on the bench in that match against Sociedad with Maguire sent on to play up front.
Elanga’s lack of game time saw him seek a new challenge before the start of the 2023-24 season. A permanent switch to Nottingham Forest has seen him already play half of the Premier League minutes he managed last season in just six games for his new club.
Shola Shoretire
Another academy product with vast expectations on his shoulders at a young age, Shoretire made his United debut aged just 17 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. But the England youth international has not quite made his mark in the club’s first-team under Ten Hag.
Now 19, Shoretire has made just four further appearances for the Red Devils. He is yet to play under Ten Hag despite appearing in several matchday squads.
Although more comfortable in an attacking midfield position, Shoretire can also play anywhere across the front three. He, too, was left on the bench while Maguire was thrown on against Sociedad.
Two months later, Shoretire was sent on loan to Bolton where he impressed in League One, scoring one goal in 16 appearances. He failed to find another temporary deal this summer and so has stayed with United’s U21s.
Anthony Martial
Things might have gone differently had Martial been available for the Sociedad clash. The Frenchman could have been brought on in the closing stages of the game and scored the goal that clinched an easier path in the Europa League.
Instead, Martial was not fit and United went through in second place having failed to register a shot on target in the second half in Spain. Maguire’s introduction made little difference. United ultimately advanced to the quarter-final – beating Barcelona and Real Betis – but lost to Sevilla.
Martial was recovering from a back injury and was not fit in time to face the La Liga outfit. He played 25 minutes as a substitute against Aston Villa three days later, with United losing 3-1 at Villa Park.
The 27-year-old remains at Old Trafford but is now the second-choice striker behind summer signing Rasmus Hojlund. Martial scored the third goal in Tuesday’s win over Palace.
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