NO CHILD'S PLAY
Solskjaer’s kids given harsh lesson as minnows pick up first points of Europa League
IT WAS A MOMENT Tahith Chong will want to forget.
Gifted with the chance to put this game to bed in the 55th minute he somehow contrived to launch the ball over an empty goal from three yards out.
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It cost Manchester United the game for they were 1-0 up at that stage through Jesse Lingard’s tenth minute strike and dominating.
But within seven minutes of Chong’s incredible miss, Astana had scored twice and United’s young stars looked deflated.
It will be a lesson learned about putting games away.
Even if this was a very young side with the first team left at home, the opposition was not great having not recorded a point in their four games in this Europa League Group L before last night.
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They were already out of the competition with United already through.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will still take positives from his sides.
A team with three debutants, seven teenagers, nine academy products and an average age of 20 among the outfield players.
For the first half this United side simply buzzed with energy lead by ‘veteran’ Lingard captaining the team for the first time.
The hope will be this evening which saw him also score his first goal in 28 games puts him back on track after badly losing his form over the last 12 months.
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His goal was one from the Lingard archives which is home to some spectacular strikes, a 20-yarder in the far side of the goal after just ten minutes.
He could have had another couple in that first half as United ran their opponents ragged.
Plenty of players caught the eye with 19-year-old Angel Gomes making only his eighth first team appearance is surely destined for big things.
A five foot three inch box of tricks and creativity and a dead ball shot too which almost earned a share of the points in the 77th minute only to be denied by a brilliant save.
SWITCHED OFF
In midfield James Garner impressed again as he had done in the 1-0 win over Partizan Belgrade.
Receiving the ball from the back four he would charge forward and set moves going.
The whole team were not afraid to pass out from the back and take risks on the artificial surface here in the Astana Arena just as Solskjaer wants them to.
They crucially switched off for a few moments and that cost them.
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There was 38 second between Chong’s miss and Dmitri Shomko firing a shot into the far bottom corner to bring the sides level.
Six minutes later Antonio Rukavina’s cross was deflected past his own goalkeeper by Di'Shon Bernard.
A shame because it should have been a night to remember for these young stars.
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