Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund scored the goals in Manchester United’s comeback win over Brentford on Saturday but just as encouraging was the contribution of Marcus Rashford who played a key part in the improved team performance.
Rashford provided the cross for the equaliser, one of four chances created from open play by the forward. It is 18 months since he created that many openings in a Premier League match. Indeed, you have to go back over five years to find a game where he created more.
Antonio Valencia, Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba were in the United starting line-up that day so that tells you that this was not a typical Rashford display. His stunning cross-field pass to Garnacho in the first half might have brought the breakthrough sooner.
But just as pleasing as the creativity was his obvious endeavour, harrying the Brentford defence and chasing back to get ball-side when United did not have possession. He pressed on 24 occasions – more than twice as many times as on the opening weekend.
In the press conference afterwards, Erik ten Hag was clearly thrilled with that aspect of Rashford’s game. “Really intense, he played. I think we all know he is capable of a lot. When he has this attitude, he will score.” The challenge for him now is to sustain that.
“What he did today, it starts always with the fighting spirit,” added Ten Hag. “With 100 per cent intensity. When we bring that, and not only Marcus, do not focus too much on Marcus, when we bring all this on the pitch. I think we have a team that can progress.”
Facundo Buonanotte’s… tackling
Another attacking player to showcase both sides of his game was Leicester City’s Facundo Buonanotte. Improbably, the diminutive Argentine was the only man to make seven tackles over the Premier League weekend, starring in their win at Southampton.
Steve Cooper had urged him beforehand to show that he could handle the international travel that comes with being a top player, only returning to Leicester on Thursday. “It is a great opportunity for him to show what he can do. That is his little challenge for Saturday.”
He delivered, producing the sort of combative display that when coupled with his obvious quality makes for a formidable combination. As well as completing 15 passes in the final third of the pitch, he won 13 duels during the game, six more than anyone else.
“He is aggressive without the ball,” said Cooper. “We have to make sure we give him the platform to work with it.” That happened in the second half against Southampton in particular, when Buonanotte moved inside to accommodate the arrival of Abdul Fatawu.
Fatawu was undoubtedly the spark that helped turn the game around at St Mary’s following his introduction from the bench but Buonanotte’s role in it was significant too. He scored his team’s first goal from one of five shots, the most of anyone on the pitch.
In fact, Buonanotte’s expected-goals total of 1.34 was the highest of any Premier League player over the weekend. The teenager on-loan from Brighton showed plenty of glimpses of his talent at his parent club but this could be a big season for him in his development.
Josko Gvardiol’s… passing
“Their left-back putting one in the top corner with his wrong foot did not help,” said Gary O’Neil after his Wolves side were beaten 2-1 by Manchester City at Molineux. You could understand the frustration although Josko Gvardiol is making something of a habit of it.
Remarkably, the Croatian is yet to score with his favoured left foot in the Premier League but as well as one headed goal he has now found the net five times with that ‘wrong’ right foot. There were two in one game at Fulham in May. It is, as they say, in his locker.
It helps too that Gvardiol, a centre-back by trade before being reinvented as a left-back by Pep Guardiola, spends much of the game camped on the left edge of the opposition penalty box. Such was City’s domination of the ball at Wolves, he broke records too.
Gvardiol played no fewer than 77 successful passes ending in the final third at Molineux on Sunday. That was the most by any player on the pitch, any player this season, and indeed, any player in any of the previous nine Premier League seasons as well. Incredible.
The only Manchester City player to register more in a Premier League game since 2010 is David Silva against West Brom in March of 2015, while Santi Cazorla did manage to better that a couple of months later for Arsenal against Sunderland, totalling 86 passes.
Gvardiol is a very different type of player but he is finding ways of flourishing in that zone of the pitch, nevertheless. They needed something special to break Wolves’ resistance. “Individual actions like Josko has done again,” said Guardiola afterwards.
Previously in The Debrief
GW1: Salah’s sprints, Saka’s one-on-ones, Mount’s pressing
GW2: Calvert-Lewin’s runs, Odegaard’s pressing, Pereira’s corners
GW3: De Bruyne’s position, Gravenberch’s runs, Dawson’s return
GW4: Nuno’s masterclass, Duran’s strike rate, Nketiah’s shooting
GW5: Diaz’s finishing, Traore’s end product, Archer’s issues
GW6: McNeil’s role, Kulusevski’s creativity, Gravenberch’s carrying
GW7: Saka’s creativity, Kovacic’s shooting, Mitoma’s return to form