Five things we learned from Manchester United 2-0 Benfica

Manchester United have all-but qualified for the Champions League knockout stages thanks to an own goal by 18-year-old Benfica goalkeeper Mile Svriar and Daley Blind’s penalty.
It was not the most emphatic game, but José Mourinho’s men did well to keep yet another clean sheet – they have only conceded one goal at Old Trafford this season – and only need one point from two games to qualify.

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Anthony Martial was the star player for the Red Devils, waltzing past Benfica’s defenders for fun and playing with immense confidence.

Here are five takeaways from Manchester United 2-0 Benfica:

When Anthony Martial’s on it, he’s unstoppable

The Frenchman has had a stellar start to the season for Manchester United, to which Mourinho will be pleased with his contributions.

Martial has scored six goals and recorded six assists in 14 appearances so far for the Red Devils, his best start to a season since arriving in Manchester.

The wide-forward’s ability to ghost past players is exceptional and he possesses such guile and balance to keep on his feet when hounded out by three Benfica players. Martial is playing with such immense confidence that he should be playing week in, week out.

The former Monaco star was United’s best player against Benfica and kept wanting to drive forward at Benfica’s vulnerable defence. Martial definitely has a bright future ahead of him, but he must keep focussed and remain in Mourinho’s good books.

Romelu Lukaku is struggling

The Belgian international is going through a dry patch in front of goals for Manchester United – he is without a goal in five games. It is not the end of the world for Lukaku, but he, as a centre forward, is judged by goals and he needs to rekindle his electric form at the start of the season.

There was an opportunity where the Red Devils were awarded their second penalty of the night in which Lukaku stepped up to take responsibility and score. However, he was quickly taken off it by Ander Herrera who, in turn, was also shoved off it by the eventual goal-scorer, Blind.

Lukaku should have taken the penalty to give himself the added confidence boost he desperately needs. Man United take on Chelsea at the weekend, a hugely important game for both teams, and Mourinho will want his key striker to be in red hot form.

The problem with Lukaku being out-of-form is the fact that Mourinho does not have Zlatan Ibrahimović fit and raring to go yet – he is still out injured, recovering from his ACL tear.

Lukaku will eventually return to the scoresheet, but the Red Devils will be relying on him to produce a big performance against Chelsea.

Manchester United’s full backs are a problem

Over the last few years, there has been an overwhelming problem with Manchester United’s attacking play and it has mostly come from the full backs.

While Antonio Valencia has been a revelation at right back, he does not have a counterpart bombarding down the left and the back-up options are uninspiring to say the least.

Matteo Darmian is used sporadically and rarely steps foot in the opposition’s half, while Blind’s inconsistency in the final third is a major worry and has been disappointing after showing his attacking prowess for the Netherlands in the 2014 World Cup.

Luke Shaw was supposed to be United’s left back for the next decade, but the Englishman has certainly fallen out of favour with Mourinho and is one of the last players to be called up for that position. The former England international looks set to be heading for the exit.

Manchester United need long-term options at full back that aid their attack and provide options for their wingers. At times, Martial, Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata are isolated out-wide due to the lack of options.

Ed Woodward, Man United’s executive vice-chairman, should invest into the transfer market this January and pluck out an attacking left back.

A lack of a consistent number 10 can hurt United

While Mourinho has options in Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mata and Lingard as a number 10, he is unsettled on which is his number one. The Portuguese boss keeps chopping and changing, which is not helping their form on the pitch.

Mkhitaryan might have started incredibly well in the early games of the season, but the Armenian has faltered throughout October and has not looked the same player. He looks short of confidence and nothing appears to be coming off for him in the final third.

Lingard is not an orthodox number 10 and looks far more comfortable on the flank, rather than through the middle. The Englishman does not have the quick footwork or panache that matches Mata or some of the best playmaker’s across Europe.

Mata is the archetypal attacking midfielder, but he is shunted out-wide on the right-hand side by Mourinho, which does not suit him. While the Spaniard can cut inside, he does not possess the pace to be a threat on the counter-attack while playing in that position. He is a lot more effective in the middle.

There has been links with Mesut Özil and you can see why – Manchester United need a playmaker who is going to deliver the impossible, and on his day, the German World Cup winner can certainly do that. The only hesitation would also be his consistency.

Mourinho trusts his youth players

There were hesitations over Mourinho arriving at Manchester United, primarily because of his inability to use Chelsea’s youngsters while managing the West London club.

In particular, Rashford’s future was mentioned an awful amount of times, with some wary of the Portuguese boss potentially stalling it.

However, it has been the complete opposite with Mourinho at United as he relies heavily on Rashford’s input, as well as calling up the likes of Axel Tuanzebe and Scott McTominay.

In fact, McTominay played against Benfica in his first Champions League start for the club and looked assured in the middle of the park. The 20-year-old midfielder might not have been overly adventurous in his array of passing, he did not need to be. He played the simple route and that was what was needed of him. Sometimes, players can overcomplicate their game by going for the Hollywood pass when it is not necessary.

Mourinho clearly trusts his youth and, as long as they are good enough, they will play under him.