Manchester United took on Sheffield United on Wednesday night, here are five things we learned from the game.
For Erik ten Hag, the game started as well as any game has this campaign, as Manchester United dominated possession.
But a sloppy pass from Andre Onana gave Sheffield all the encouragement they needed to go 1-0 ahead.
Harry Maguire grabbed his second in four days however to draw the sides level before half-time, against his former club.
Just four minutes into the second half, however, Sheffield went ahead once again.
But again, United came back from behind with Bruno Fernandes converting a penalty.
It was then Fernandes from range to put United ahead 3-2 before a fourth sealed the three points with Fernandes assisting Rasmus Hojlund to make it 4-2.
Here are five things we learned from the game…
Bruno Fernandes leads by example once again for United
Without Fernandes these past few weeks, god knows where United would be as he’s been almost a one-man team at times.
Again on Wednesday night, it was Fernandes dragging his team from the depths of defeat with two goals – the second in particular being excellent.
He also then added an assist for the fourth, setting up Hojlund to show reports this week that the two had fallen out is long over.
He’s the captain and recently he’s shown why, leading by example on the pitch.
Ethan Wheatley becomes 250th academy graduate
24 hours on from winning the U18 Premier League Cup, Ethan Wheatley came off the bench to become the 250th academy player to debut for the United first-team.
It’ll be a week that Wheatley will never forget as he donned the number 84 for the final minutes of the game.
The first of many we hope for as the youngster has all the tools to be a top player for United as he’s shown with his 20 academy goals this season.
Erik ten Hag is following Jason Wilcox’s demand
On Wednesday afternoon, it was reported that new technical director Jason Wilcox had given Ten Hag his orders on how the new United will play football.
This entails possession-based football, which is something we haven’t seen this season, even being dominated by Luton Town.
But against Sheffield, there was a clear emphasis on possession and United knocked the ball around really well for large parts of the game and lo and behold we didn’t face 30 shots.
With practice and some new players, this style could reap real rewards for Ten Hag and it must be persisted with.
Harry Maguire amongst the goals once again for United
A goalscorer at Wembley on Sunday, Maguire was back amongst it for United here against Sheffield United.
Another header as he drew United level before halftime which was a vital goal at a huge point in the game.
It’s remarkable to see just how far he’s come since last summer to the point he’s a bonafide fan favourite.
Andre Onana makes a mistake he was signed to prevent
For Onana, the season has been full of highs and lows, but Wednesday night personally for him will have been a low.
Signed for his brilliant ball-playing abilities to replace the mistake-prone David de Gea, we haven’t seen too many errors on the ball this season.
But we saw one against Sheffield United and it was a mistake that Onana was signed so we could avoid. He’ll be glad his blushes were spared.