Manchester United struggled to a 1-0 win against Omonia in the Europa League this evening.
United’s breakthrough came late in the match courtesy of a late goal from substitute Scott McTominay.
McTominay came on in place of Casemiro in the 81st minute. In the nine or so minutes he was on the pitch, the Scotland international was superb, capping off a brilliant cameo with a goal to spare United’s blushes.
Another standout performer against Omonia was Tyrell Malacia.
Malacia got the nod ahead of Luke Shaw and played on his favoured left flank alongside Marcus Rashford.
In the first half, the Dutch left-back won 100% of the duels he delved into in a supreme show of defensive resilience.
The 23-year-old registered an impressive 92% pass accuracy in his 60 minutes of play against Neil Lennon’s men. Out of the 56 successful passes he made to his teammates, four were key passes.
Malacia registered an enormous 74 touches of the ball to his name.
The defender made two interceptions and won three tackles.
The former Feyenoord man, who arrived at Old Trafford in a deal worth £12.9m, demonstrated his capability to go forward, making two accurate crosses.
Malacia also completed 100% of his dribbles against Omonia.
The full-back did well tonight after a few shaky performances in recent days. It remains to be seen whether he starts against Newcastle at Luke Shaw‘s expense.
On the evidence of his showing tonight, he has made a concrete claim for a starting berth.