Watch: Man Utd channel their inner Barcelona with this tiki-taka flow
Erik ten Hag has Manchester United playing a fluid brand of football and this passage of play against Nottingham Forest showcases how far they have come.
United had a relatively comfortable victory in the end as goals from Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Fred wrapped up the three points on the night.
The result leaves Man United just one point behind Spurs with a game in hand. A top-four finish will no doubt be the aim for United in the second half of the season.
Rashford opened the scoring for United after 22 minutes as he linked up with Christian Eriksen for a smart corner routine. Martial doubled their lead just moments later and United then didn’t look back.
Since Ten Hag’s arrival at Old Trafford, he has been gradually transitioning the team into his philosophy. Plenty of quick interchanges and passing moves were on show against Forest.
Ten Hag was satisfied with his team’s performance but still believes there is more to come. “I’m happy with three goals and there could have been even more, and a clean sheet, so I think we have a good return after the break,” he explained via the Man United official website.
“It was nice to watch our game. We are growing but, after a break, you see always a setback and a drop in performance. I have seen that now as well, also we are missing some players.
“It’s normal but I saw it in all the games in this round of the Premier League. There is a lot of work to do to get back to the highest standards but the games will help you as they’re better than training.”
Rashford in particular had a standout performance as he produced a goal and assist and picked up from where he left off on international duty for England.
Ten Hag continues: “It’s my job to make the team perform and make the individuals perform, to bring them in their best position, also mentally bring them in the best mood.
“So I try to do my best every game. There is still room for improvement from Marcus but this one [performance] was at a good level and he’s unstoppable if he keeps in this spirit, this focus, I am sure the process will keep going and he’ll score more goals and get more assists.”
Ten Hag certainly has his side playing a more fluid brand of football now and this clip from their 3-0 victory against Forest highlights just how much progress they have made.
Think back to Eriksen playing it to Bruno for Rashfords goal against Arsenal. Or even this example from todays game. Shaw with the pass this time.
Great positioning between the lines from malacia this time but the pass from shaw is brilliant. We need to start doing this more pic.twitter.com/xXgIcRtBuh
— 🔴 (@Am0rimjob) December 27, 2022
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