Manchester United moved level with Premier League rivals Liverpool at the top of the table after beating a stubborn Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Friday night.
A goal apiece from Anthony Martial and Bruno Fernandes proved to be more than enough to secure all three points as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side started the New Year with a bang.
But that doesn’t excuse the fact that Solskjaer will have every right to feel aggrieved by a couple of poor performances, namely Scott McTominay, as the young Scotsman struggled to get a foothold in the game.
McTominay, who reportedly earns £70,000-a-week, has arguably been one of Solskjaer’s most-improved players so far this season but this was a night to forget for the midfielder at Old Trafford.
The Scotland international was also sloppy in possession, as he lost control of the ball 13 times in total, via SofaScore.
In actual fact, as per SofaScore, the 24-year-old received a miserable rating of 6.1 for his abysmal display, which was the worst out of any player on the pitch from both sides by quite some margin, as he looked like he had run out of steam.
If that wasn’t bad enough, he won just 2 of his 13 duels and touched the ball a mere 43 times, which was significantly fewer than the 69 touches his teammate Paul Pogba managed himself. McTominay also conceded five fouls as Villa started to win the individual battles in the midfield, so it’s no wonder he was replaced by Nemanja Matic in the second half.
The Manchester Evening News gave him a low grade of 5/10 and claimed he was ‘overshadowed by his fellow central midfielders and not as purposeful with his passing,’ while The Sun were equally scathing in their assessment, criticising him for being ‘very clumsy with his passing and wayward feet ended a few promising United breaks.’
This isn’t the first time McTominay has been criticised for his perceived lack of an ability to control possession and dictate play, with club legend Gary Neville previously insisting he isn’t good enough to start in the midfield.
Speaking to Sky Sports, as quoted by Goal, Neville said: “McTominay, when I watch him, I’m not sure he’s actually good enough on the ball to be a Man United midfield player.
“I do think he’s the type that it’s good for him to play games in there.”
Not only was he lethargic, he was also uncharacteristically lightweight, with both Pogba and Fred managing more tackles between them.
With a FA Cup tie at home to Watford next on the agenda, McTominay ought to be wary with Fred, Matic, Pogba and even Donny van de Beek competing for a place in the starting line-up. He’s hardly done himself any favours whatsoever, that’s for sure.
AND in other news, Forget Fernandes: Manchester United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka was brilliant vs Aston Villa…