Scott McTominay continues to vindicate Jose Mourinho's decision to keep granting him starts by putting in another composed, intelligent and assured performance in Manchester United's crucial 2-1 victory over Chelsea.
Following on wonderfully from his important showing in United's 0-0 Champions League draw with Sevilla last week, the 21-year-old illustrated his maturity, discipline and composure, in a match where he once more proved why Mourinho can count on him in the big games.
Trusted with the unenviable task of marking Chelsea's superstar, Eden Hazard, for the majority of the contest, McTominay did a largely sound job of tracking his opponent. To start with, he pressed him vigorously whenever he dropped deep into central midfield areas, aiming to be touch-tight so his man had minimal room and time to turn or play his customarily crafty passes to progress attacks. While keeping tabs on Hazard when he was located in front of him wasn't too arduous for him to deal with, Hazard's astute movement to get in behind offered an entirely more challenging proposition.
To combat this, McTominay used repeated head scans to continually give himself an updated imagery of the Belgian's positioning upon noticing he was on his blindside. This indeed demonstrated his outstanding concentration, as he did a fine job of remaining alert and aware of Hazard's intelligent positioning.
It must said though that Hazard's purposeful movement regularly created issues for the Lancaster born prospect. Being so focused and intent on marking Hazard, this meant McTominay could be easily dragged around by his adversary. The negative impacts for United reared their head often, chiefly when he let Willian surge beyond him prior to his opener after being overly attentive to marking Hazard, for this created structural imbalances in their midfield, leaving the Red Devils' backline exposed on many occasions.
Whether pulling McTominay out wide, deep or forcing him to push back and be level with his defenders, Hazard successfully manufactured central attacking space for his colleagues to exploit, and managed to generate much confusion as to how this should be countered.
Other than the aforementioned unfortunate moment, his communication with a colleague as soon as Hazard performed a crossover with Willian, a method that can often cause huge headaches in man oriented defensive schemes, saw blown marking assignments become a rarity not the norm.
Any downsides from his stopping exertions must be tempered with the fact he was so doggedly undertaking his designated duties, so much of the criticism shouldn't necessarily directed at him, however, because he actually did nicely limiting the effectiveness of the multifaceted Hazard.
Contributing admirably to his team's work in possession served as another positive, where the weight and speed of his passing were important in helping connect and constructing United's upfield forays.
Mourinho was full of praise for his protege in his post-match comments, gleaming: "He is a fantastic player, a player that is a modern midfield player, he can do everything. The only thing he's not doing yet is scoring goals, which he can. The only reason he isn't is because of the job I am giving him."
It's clear when hearing the mentally formidable McTominay speak about his strong form of late, that his focus is geared keenly towards repaying his manager's faith in him and to keep proving himself at the highest level. "Obviously it’s so important for me to repay the manager whenever he puts trust in me in these games,” he insisted to MUTV.
“Big nights, big occasions. That’s what you want in your career. They’re the things that make or break you as a footballer, and I feel like it’s how you deal with them situations that define you as a player and as a character on the pitch."
“Obviously nerves are only natural. It’s how you deal with them nerves and it’s how you put that on a football pitch. Once you’re out there, you just forget about it - it’s a game of football on a pitch that you’ve played on before, so, you just take it from there, want to play your game and that is it.”
Judging from his accomplished, determined recent displays, it'll be expected the languid midfielder will keep getting such valuable opportunities on the big stage. After all, on top of demonstrating his immense comfort at this level, he already has the vital backing of his Portuguese tactician, a man who can be notoriously difficult to please.
He may not be the most eye-catching player, but the way he adds balance, stability and performs his responsibilities so convincingly has seen him become an essential ingredient within Mourinho's desired plans. And for that he deserves enormous credit.
