Ralf Rangnick credits one Man United star with changing the game, and tips another for captaincy after Aston Villa
Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick has singled two players out for special praise, on the back of his side’s downing of Aston Villa.
McTominay the difference
The Red Devils, of course, marked their return to action a short time ago.
In the 32nd and final fixture of the FA Cup’s 3rd round, Rangnick and co. welcomed Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa to Old Trafford, eyeing a much-needed return to winning ways.
And, when all was said and done on Monday, this is precisely what United managed.
Though the hosts proved far from convincing over the course of the 90 minutes, a solitary goal, nodded home by Scott McTominay inside ten minutes, ultimately proved enough to set up a 4th-round showdown with Championship outfit Middlesbrough.
🔴 He’s @ManUtd‘s main man at the moment 🤩@mctominay10 like a prime number 9️⃣ in the box 😅#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/atWV9WCISe
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 10, 2022
‘Controlled the game’
In turn, on the back of his side’s latest underwhelming display being brought to a close, it came as little surprise when Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick, post-match, was keen to point towards some of the few positive takeaways from a Red Devils perspective.
One such plus, in the eyes of Rangnick, came in the form of the display of forgotten man Donny van de Beek.
Dutch international van de Beek was introduced off the bench late in proceedings versus Villa, and has since been credited with getting his side firmly back ‘in control of the game’:
🗣 Rangnick: “From the very moment when we changed to a diamond in the last 20 minutes, when Donny [van de Beek] came on, from then on we controlled the game.” [Samuel Luckhurst, MEN]
— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) January 10, 2022
Also showered in praise on the part of his boss in the aftermath of the Old Trafford clash, meanwhile, was another member of the German’s midfield ranks – Scott McTominay.
The Scot, match-winning goal aside, continues to impress Rangnick with both his ‘energy’ and ‘leadership’, culminating in the suggestion that, in the not-so-distant future, McTominay could even be honoured with the captain’s armband on the red half of Manchester:
‘He is an academy boy, his energy is amazing. He now also starts scoring goals and also with some leadership skills.’
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if in a couple of years he would be the captain of this team.’
Captain McTominay? #MUFC https://t.co/SYr4Tcspjc
— Man United News (@ManUtdMEN) January 10, 2022
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 21 | 40 | 53 |
| 2 | Chelsea FC | 21 | 29 | 43 |
| 3 | Liverpool FC | 20 | 34 | 42 |
| 4 | Arsenal FC | 20 | 8 | 35 |
| 5 | West Ham United | 20 | 10 | 34 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 3 | 33 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 19 | 3 | 31 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 19 | 0 | 28 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 19 | 0 | 27 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 18 | -2 | 25 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 20 | -1 | 23 |
| 12 | Brentford FC | 19 | -3 | 23 |
| 13 | Aston Villa | 19 | -5 | 22 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 19 | -9 | 21 |
| 15 | Everton FC | 18 | -9 | 19 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 19 | -16 | 19 |
| 17 | Watford FC | 18 | -14 | 13 |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 17 | -11 | 11 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 19 | -23 | 11 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 19 | -34 | 10 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 16 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 9 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 8 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 8 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 8 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 8 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 7 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7 |
| Silva, Bernardo | Manchester City | 7 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 6 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 6 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 6 |
| Jorginho | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 6 |
| Cornet, Maxwel | Burnley FC | 6 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 6 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 6 |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 1 | 5 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 6 |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 6 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 1 | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 5 |
| Silva, Bernardo | Manchester City | 0 | 5 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 4 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 0 | 5 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 1 | 4 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 0 | 5 |
| Canos, Sergi | Brentford FC | 0 | 5 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 5 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Rodri | Manchester City | 0 | 5 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 0 | 5 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 9 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 7 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 7 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 5 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 4 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 4 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 4 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 4 |
| Redmond, Nathan | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 |
