A much-changed Manchester United secured a 1-1 draw with BSC Young Boys at Old Trafford in their final Champions League encounter in Group F.
Ralf Rangnick made a full 11 changes to the side that featured from the off in the victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday, handing first starts of the season to teenagers Anthony Elanga and Amad Diallo.
And it was a fast start from the hosts, with Mason Greenwood finishing in spectacular style within the opening ten minutes following Luke Shaw’s measured cutback.
United continuously won the ball back high up the pitch at the start of proceedings as Rangnick slowly implements his Gegenpressing style, but Diallo and Juan Mata both failed to finish off promising attacking moves.
However, the Red Devils were unable to sustain their pressing game and their Swiss opposition clawed themselves back into the tie on the stroke of half-time.
Fabian Reider won the ball back following some sloppy play on the edge of United’s area before bending in an unstoppable strike, leaving Dean Henderson helpless between the sticks.
An uneventful second half saw Rangnick hand first-team debuts to Tom Heaton, Charlie Savage and Zidane Iqbal, while Shola Shoretire also made his first appearance of the campaign, but it was perhaps a more experienced head who really took his chance.
Donny van de Beek controlled proceedings in the middle of the park and put his name firmly in the hat for more consistent outings under the new regime.
As per SofaScore, the Netherlands international had a whopping 92 touches throughout the 90 minutes, won nine of his 11 duels (82%) and picked out a teammate with three of his four attempted long balls.
The 24-year-old finished the game with a passing accuracy of 84% and successfully completed both of his dribbles, yet it was defensive contribution that really caught the eye.
Van de Beek made six tackles – at least two more than any of his teammates – pulled off three interceptions, two clearances and one block, highlighting his hugely effective display at both ends of the pitch.
His part in Young Boys’ equaliser was the only blot on the former Ajax ace’s copybook, and he’ll be hoping Rangnick can look past his single error as he bids to become a regular fixture in the starting lineup.
And, in other news…Rangnick lines up move for “unbelievable” £100k-p/w “animal”, he’s what Man Utd need
