Scott McTominay etched his name onto the scoresheet last night as Manchester United rounded off matchday five with a 3-3 draw to Galatasaray.
Twice now the Red Devils have squandered a two-goal lead against the Turkish side and after sustaining three defeats thus far in the Champions League, their hopes of progression to the last-16 have been taken out of United’s hands.
As for the Scotsman, his contribution marked a personal milestone as he registered his first-ever goal in the competition, as well as his fourth of the season overall.
He’s been granted regular game time under Erik ten Hag this term after a summer in which it looked as though he could be exiting Old Trafford; already this term, McTominay has made 10 starts and is seemingly a trusted, senior member of the squad.
Whether or not United will open up his sale again in 2024 remains to be seen, as reports suggest that Eddie Howe is a long-time admirer of the 26-year-old and would be keen to bring his abilities to St. James’ Park, especially amid Sandro Tonali’s 10-month ban.
McTominay’s post-match comments
Speaking to MUTV following the full-time whistle, McTominay declared that goalscoring was one element of his game he’s looking to develop.
“[Goals are] something that I want to add to my game and obviously I’m delighted with that, in terms of, I think, my first Champions League goal,” the midfielder said.
He also shared his assessment on the deflating affairs at Rams Park: “We’re so disappointed not to come away with more goals than three, to be honest, and if you’d said that to us before the evening started, we’d have been delighted with that, ” said United’s no.39.
“Hopefully [we’d also] get another clean sheet. But, in football, there are mistakes and different things that can happen in the game, and it’s partly our fault at the other end of the pitch for not killing the game as well.
“I feel like we really did [play well]. We had control and were playing some good stuff but it’s football and it can happen.”
