Manchester United boosted their Champions League hopes with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
The Reds remain in sixth and five points behind Villa, who are one behind fourth-placed Tottenham with 14 matches remaining.
There is talk of a resurgence at Old Trafford and we all hope it lasts until the end of the season. Erik ten Hag has been very unlucky with his players sustaining knocks and niggles, so hopefully we can take a break from that now after Lisandro Martinez’s injury.
United opened the scoring at Villa Park through Rasmus Hojlund, who made it five goals in as many games. He became the second-youngest player to score in five consecutive matches, only behind Nicolas Anelka for Arsenal in 1998.
Villa pulled one back in the second half and then United scored the winner late on following a header from Scott McTominay.
While United fans will hope this is a sign of better form for the second half of the season, Strachan identified two key differences in a resurgent United.
Strachan told Lord Ping: “Have Manchester United turned a corner? I think there are a couple of things that have made a big difference to Erik ten Hag over the last few weeks: the return of Casemiro and Manchester United becoming very effective from set plays and playing a more direct brand of football.
“Casemiro makes a massive difference to Manchester United. I know people have said that he hasn’t been at his best this season; he’s slow, but he’s one of those players that when you’re a manager standing in the dugout watching the match, you think to yourself ‘thank goodness he’s here’. Casemiro is a big player for United.
“I think everyone was probably expecting Erik ten Hag’s to produce a similar playing style to his Ajax team, but the Premier League is a different kettle of fish. It’s been harder for his players to play in a fluid style that is similar to what we’ve seen from the likes of Tottenham this season. If you shut your eyes for ten minutes and opened them up, Manchester United would still be in the same place (on the pitch).
“Against Villa, the delivery for McTominay that Dalot whipped in was like a David Beckham cross. The first goal came from Harry Maguire winning a header at a corner and Hojlund picking up the second ball. It’s a back-to-basics kind of style and height and power has won them the game.”
Strachan also waxed lyrical about Maguire and McTominay, adding: “I think if you asked Erik ten Hag at the beginning of the season would you include Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay in your best eleven, he would have said no. They are hardworking professionals who don’t have the glitz of some of the summer signings or some of ten Hag’s former Ajax players. They don’t do anything that is particularly flashy or skilful, but they do win games of football.
“As the season has gone on, ten Hag has realised that he needs players like Maguire and McTominay in his team. Sometimes you need some height and strength in your team to win games of football, unless you’re on fire of course. The best Barcelona teams didn’t need that physicality to win games. They knew they could simply outscore their opponent playing magical football. Man City can do the same to a certain extent.
“Harry Maguire has been the butt of so many jokes and all of the problems at Manchester United over the last couple of years. The way that he has handled that is a great example for any professional footballer. He didn’t get involved with the nonsense and behaved impeccably when there were all the stories about him. People were feeling sorry for you, and that is the last place you ever want to be as a footballer. He rolled up his sleeves and got on with it. It’s great to see him come through this period. I’m delighted for him, I really am.”
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