Greenwood is worth the hype
OLE GUNNAR Solskjaer need not have worried about putting too much pressure on Mason Greenwood’s young shoulders. ‘ One of the best natural finishers I’ve seen’, he described the 17-year-old striker on the eve of this game.
Well, when the moment came for Greenwood to justify the hype, he delivered.
United were running out of ideas against a stubborn Astana side when Fred fed the ball to Greenwood out on the right in the 73rd minute.
The English teenager only had one thing i n mind. He teased Dorin Rotariu before sweeping past his opponent and casually guiding the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Nenad Eric.
Greenwood had broken through on United’s summer tour with goals against Inter Milan and Leeds United, but this was the real thing.
His first official goal for Manchester United — and the first of many, you can be sure of that.
It ensured a happy ending to a night that saw Greenwood make his full European de but in a much-changed United side alongside Axel Tuanzebe, Tahith Chong and Angel Gomes.
‘Mason won the game for us and I’m sure he will go home happy,’ said Solskjaer.
‘This was a great chance for the young players. We wouldn’t throw them in if they weren’t ready. If you want to make it at Manchester United, you need to handle the fans.’
For a long time, it looked like an evening that was going to end in frustration. After all, nothing sums up United’s fall from grace quite like Thursday night football against the champions of Kazakhstan.
Inevitably, there were plenty of empty seats at Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford, the senior attacking partner for United at the tender age of 21, wasted three good chances in the first half.
The first came in the 12th minute. Gomes’ corner was deflected off Tuanzebe straight to the England international in front of goal and his first-time attempt was kept out by Eric’s smart save at his near post.
Opportunity knocked for Rashford again in the 21st minute when Marcos Rojo’s through ball found him unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box.
He met i t with a stab of his outstretched right boot but again Eric was equal to the task.
Astana t hought t hey had weathered the first-half offensive when Rashford was presented with a third chance after the ball broke for him again just before the interval, but another first-time attempt was fired straight at the Astana keeper.
At least Rashford played a part i n setting up an opening f or Greenwood, flicking Diogo Dalot’s pass into the path of the talented youngster, who curled a shot millimetres wide of the upright.
The biggest threat to United was complacency and it almost cost them in the 17th minute when Roman Murtazayev turned Phil Jones easily and advanced on goal.
Fortunately for Jones, the Astana forward got the ball caught under his feet and the defender was able to block the shot.
Solskjaer responded to the goalless first half by giving Greenwood more licence to switch with Rashford.
He was close to a breakthrough soon after the restart when he and Chong flung themselves at Rojo’s low ball to the far post but were just unable to make contact.
Solskjaer turned to experience by replacing Gomes and Chong with Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata — and Greenwood duly got the goal that mattered.
This was an important victory in the context of a group that includes AZ Alkmaar and Partizan Belgrade.
However, more importantly, it was a vital stage in the learning curve of these young United players. MANCHESTER UTD (4-2-3-1): Romero 6; Dalot 7 (Young 78), Jones 6, Tuanzebe 6, Rojo 7; Matic 6, Fred 6; Greenwood 8, Gomes 6 (Mata 68), Chong 6 (Lingard 68); Rashford 6. Subs not used: Grant, Maguire, Garner, McTominay. Booked: Fred. FC ASTANA (4-4-2): Eric 7; Rukavina 6, Postnikov 7, Tomasevic 6, Shomko 6; Tomasov 7, Maevski 6, Simunovic 5 (Logvinenko 46), Sigurjonsson 6; Rotariu 5 (Mubele 82), Murtazayev 6 (Janga 46). Subs not used: Mokin, Muzhikov, Beysebekov, Pertsukh. Booked: None. Man of the match: Mason Greenwood. Referee: Francois Letexier (France). Attendance: 50,783.