Manchester United pulled off a fantastic comeback against Aston Villa last night and Scott McTominay put in an excellent performance in midfield.
The Scotsman was clearly the better of the ‘McFred’ pair that started the game, showing composure where his Brazilian teammate often panicked.
And after Chrisian Eriksen came on after the hour mark, McTominay came to life, greatly contributing to his team’s fantastic comeback.
United managed to gain control of the midfield area in a way that didn’t seem possible against the same opponents last Sunday.
During the 90 minutes, McTominay played a good game and the numbers back it up.
The academy product was the most involved of United’s starting central players, scoring 66 touches compared to Fred’s 42 and Donny van de Beek’s measly 21.
He had 88% passing accuracy to boot, with only Victor Lindelof and Tyrell Malacia bettering that ratio.
McTominay also completed a dribble and drove two accurate long balls forward, but defensively he was a behemoth.
He won an impressive six games as United battled for control of midfield and did a fantastic job of protecting the defence.
Three successful tackles and five clearances showed his willingness to meddle and help his center backs.
But far from a cautious performance in midfield, this was a true box-to-box performance, with McTominay bursting forward to seize late opportunities on a couple of occasions.
One ended with a shot at the post, another a goal to sentence the tie.
McTominay enjoyed a strong campaign this season and performed admirably whenever called upon in his new role as a team player.
With the signing of Casemiro taking the pressure off McTominay to start each match, he appears to have found a new lease on life with Erik ten Hag.
(All statistics taken from SofaScore)
