{"id":97126,"date":"2023-12-07T16:24:42","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T16:24:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/?p=97126"},"modified":"2023-12-07T16:24:42","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T16:24:42","slug":"how-scott-mctominay-became-absolutely-crucial-to-man-united","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/soccer\/how-scott-mctominay-became-absolutely-crucial-to-man-united\/","title":{"rendered":"How Scott McTominay became absolutely crucial to Man United"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> Scott McTominay was almost sold in the summer but is now Man United&#8217;s leading marksman with his crucial goals easing the pressure on Erik ten Hag&#8230; and it&#8217;s all down to a shift in how he plays<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>McTominay took his season tally to six goals with double against Chelsea<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>He has been given licence to get into goalscoring positions with positive results<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Erik ten Hag has not located the soul and heartbeat of United and, without it, they are screwed &#8211; Listen to It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s make no bones about it &#8211; if West Ham had bid more than \u00a330million back in August, Scott McTominay would probably be playing in claret and blue right now.<\/p>\n<p>Erik ten Hag should count his blessings they didn&#8217;t because, at the moment, McTominay is one of the principal reasons he is still Manchester United manager.<\/p>\n<p>The Scot&#8217;s stoppage time heroics against Brentford just before the October international break eased pressure on Ten Hag. After it, he scored an important goal at Sheffield United.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, McTominay made the difference again, his double in the 2-1 win over Chelsea offering his manager much needed pre-Christmas tidings of comfort and joy.<\/p>\n<p>It came in a week of stories about Ten Hag losing the faith of half the United dressing room, to which he responded by banning four news outlets from his Tuesday press conference.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/11\/78686761-12837005-image-a-13_1701949128476.jpg\" height=\"458\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Scott McTominay was at the double on Wednesday night as Manchester United beat Chelsea<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/15\/78688235-12837005-The_Scottish_midfielder_has_become_adept_at_getting_himself_into-a-1_1701962434147.jpg\" height=\"412\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Scottish midfielder has become adept at getting himself into goalscoring positions\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/15\/78686759-12837005-McTominay_s_goals_have_proved_to_be_highly_significant_for_under-a-2_1701962434148.jpg\" height=\"514\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>McTominay&#8217;s goals have proved to be highly significant for under-pressure boss Erik ten Hag<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>United&#8217;s boss would have also appreciated McTominay&#8217;s post-match comments about lighter training sessions &#8211; the intense workload apparently a gripe for some underperformers.<\/p>\n<p>Throw in his goal to put United 3-1 ahead away to Galatasaray in the Champions League &#8211; before their very costly collapse &#8211; and McTominay is the club&#8217;s leading goalscorer this season with six.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn&#8217;t reflect too well on Marcus Rashford or Rasmus Hojlund but it&#8217;s no aberration &#8211; McTominay also netted seven goals as Scotland qualified for Euro 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The midfielder looks certain to beat his previous best goalscoring return for United &#8211; seven during the 2020-21 campaign.<\/p>\n<p>McTominay is 27 on Friday, has played 225 times for United and is regarded as a solid if unspectacular contributor. But we may now be seeing him in his best role.<\/p>\n<p>Scotland boss Steve Clarke has been more than happy to allow McTominay to maraud forward and get into scoring positions and it seems Ten Hag has taken the hint too.<\/p>\n<p>McTominay has doubled his average number of shots per game this season to 2.06 and his expected goals has also doubled from 0.16 last season to 0.32.<\/p>\n<p>The year before, under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, all these attacking metrics were lower still, suggesting Ten Hag has slowly realised his attacking potential.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/15\/78686757-12837005-McTominay_pops_up_to_score_a_dramatic_stoppage_time_winner_again-a-3_1701962434149.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>McTominay pops up to score a dramatic stoppage-time winner against Brentford in October<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/15\/78688303-12837005-It_sparked_wild_celebrations_and_eased_the_heat_on_Ten_Hag_ahead-a-4_1701962434150.jpg\" height=\"471\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>It sparked wild celebrations and eased the heat on Ten Hag ahead of October&#8217;s internationals<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/15\/78687495-12837005-McTominay_s_stats_courtesy_of_Opta_show_an_increased_offensive_c-a-5_1701962434151.jpg\" height=\"215\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>McTominay&#8217;s stats &#8211; courtesy of Opta &#8211; show an increased offensive contribution but less in terms of chance creation and midfield passing work<\/p>\n<p>The touch maps show a clear increase in McTominay getting himself into the opposite box, which is having the desired effect.<\/p>\n<h3>Man United top scorers\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>6 &#8211; Scott McTominay<\/span><\/p>\n<p>5 &#8211; Bruno Fernandes, Rasmus Hojlund<\/p>\n<p>4 &#8211; Casemiro<\/p>\n<p>3 &#8211; Alejandro Garnacho<\/p>\n<p>2 &#8211; Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial<\/p>\n<p>1 &#8211; Christian Eriksen, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Diogo Dalot, Hannibal Mejbri, Raphael Varane<\/p>\n<p>But conversely, McTominay&#8217;s offensive input from midfield has gone down. He is more clinical but less creative, with assists, created chances and passes from deep all much reduced this season.<\/p>\n<p>Whereas he used to station himself just inside the opposition&#8217;s half and pick passes, his attacking contribution now is predominantly darts into the box.<\/p>\n<p>Given this is producing plenty of goals, Ten Hag won&#8217;t be too worried about the other aspects. McTominay covers plenty of ground, puts in a shift every time and is dependable.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;People tell me that I can do more of it and I can score goals and you just have to believe in yourself,&#8217; McTominay said on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;My mum and dad have always said just get in the box and try and score goals, and my grandad at home, and sometimes it&#8217;s just believing in yourself.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The departure of Fred to Fenerbahce in the summer spelt the end of their never wholly convincing &#8216;McFred&#8217; partnership and McTominay seems to be profiting.<\/p>\n<p>Injuries to Casemiro, Mason Mount and Christian Eriksen have ensured a regular run of games. McTominay started only 16 of his 39 United appearances last season. This time, he&#8217;s started 12 of 16.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/15\/78687499-12837005-McTominay_s_touch_map_from_this_season_shows_how_he_is_getting_i-a-6_1701962434152.jpg\" height=\"478\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>McTominay&#8217;s touch map from this season shows how he is getting into scoring positions\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/15\/78687497-12837005-Last_season_saw_just_three_per_cent_of_McTominay_s_touches_in_th-a-7_1701962434153.jpg\" height=\"478\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Last season saw just three per cent of McTominay&#8217;s touches in the opposition penalty box<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/15\/78687501-12837005-Under_Ten_Hag_s_predecessors_McTominay_stationed_himself_just_in-a-8_1701962434154.jpg\" height=\"477\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Under Ten Hag&#8217;s predecessors, McTominay stationed himself just inside the opposition half<\/p>\n<p>That allows a rhythm to develop &#8211; just ask Harry Maguire, another who could easily have left Old Trafford over the summer but is now integral again.<\/p>\n<p>They&#8217;ll continue to be key as United look to build on this significant win over Chelsea.<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, they host Bournemouth and &#8211; remarkably &#8211; have the opportunity to move level on points with Manchester City.<\/p>\n<p>United will then hope for a miracle as they welcome Bayern Munich in the Champions League. They need to beat the German champions and hope Copenhagen vs Galatasaray ends all-square to sneak into the last-16.<\/p>\n<p>After that it&#8217;s a visit to Anfield, where Liverpool crushed them 7-0 last season and look even stronger now.<\/p>\n<p>Main man McTominay had better keep on running &#8211; and scoring.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/15\/78688515-12837005-McTominay_was_partnered_with_Fred_in_the_United_midfield_for_a_n-a-9_1701962434155.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>McTominay was partnered with Fred in the United midfield for a number of seasons<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/07\/15\/78686755-12837005-McTominay_scored_seven_goals_during_Scotland_s_successful_Euro_2-a-10_1701962434307.jpg\" height=\"742\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>McTominay scored seven goals during Scotland&#8217;s successful Euro 2024 qualification<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12837005\/Scott-McTominay-summer-Man-Uniteds-goals-Erik-ten-Hag.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scott McTominay was almost sold in the summer but is now Man United&#8217;s leading marksman with his crucial goals easing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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