McTominay Dropped from FA Cup Final Lineup After Being ‘Invisible’ Against Brighton with Bruno
United have spent seismic sums of money in years gone by so we all know a transfer window may not resolve things. Yet, there is a new regime in place and things could improve.
However, before that all happens they need to plan for Wembley. Who takes to the field from the off will be intriguing, but it should not include goal machine Scott McTominay.
The Scot has had a rather topsy-turvy campaign at Old Trafford, much like the team he plays for.
Last summer it looked as though the midfielder could have been on his way to West Ham. Yet, he stayed in Manchester and has had a pretty decent campaign all things considered.
McTominay has found the net on ten occasions in 42 matches across all competitions. That’s not a bad figure at all, especially for someone who has only scored 29 senior goals by the age of 27.
However, he is not the most consistent of individuals and at times this season has been guilty of not doing an awful lot. United may well have defeated Brighton 2-0 on Sunday but the Scottish star was not at the races with club media personality Mark Goldbridge lamenting the fact that he “offers nothing” in the middle of the park.
Harsh? Given his numbers this season, yes, but he did not play well as the season came to an end.
McTominay spurned a glorious chance to score in the first half, perhaps one of their best of the day despite the scoreline. Played in by captain Bruno Fernandes, the academy graduate took a poor first touch and then sliced an effort high and wide from a good area inside the box.
The Scot has been good in forward areas this term but that was a wild, wild effort that just about summed up his afternoon.
The Manchester Evening News’ Samuel Luckhurst handed him a 5/10 rating, lamenting that ‘wasted’ opportunity inside the penalty area.
The numbers don’t make for great reading either with McTominay’s 36 touches of the ball 17 fewer than goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Considering he played 90 minutes that’s a rather damning indictment of a lack of involvement in the clash. Furthermore, he didn’t play a single key pass, nor did he attempt a dribble.
To make matters worse, he didn’t make an interception and made just one tackle. An 88% pass success rate wasn’t bad but on the whole it was a nothing performance.
Ten Hag has a lot of things to consider ahead of the FA Cup final the following Saturday. It would take a courageous man to start Marcus Rashford in such a crucial game; but, Rasmus Hojlund scored off the bench and may return to the team. You could even advance Casemiro even farther.
McTominay needs to be concerned since this performance showed that he is not guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup on Saturday at Wembley.
