Odion Ighalo’s potential disguise is that he may be denied a start to Wembley. The 32-year-old has five goals in four Manchester United starts, three of which are in the FA Cup, and there was a logic to remember between the irrational rotation in Norwich.
If ever a contrast has confirmed United’s aversion to star names, it is that Ighalo has now scored more goals for the Angel Di Maria or Radamel Falcao club, and many like Alexis Sanchez. Of that terrible trio, only Falcao seemed genuinely fascinated by wearing the red shirt and that infectious enthusiasm of the fan of the Ighalo maidens is more evident in every aspect.
Ighalo has yet to contribute to a goal in the Premier League, but at least he has managed one against the opposition in the Premier League, albeit a Norwich who is at the league level in all but in status. Ighalo’s shin came into contact with the ball when it wrapped in the air, but the connection and concentration were exemplary.
United staff was phlegmatic at the prospect of Ighalo’s loan expiration when Marcus Rashford was back in shape, but the advantage of having a Plan B striker on the bench reinforced his unbeaten 14 games. Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood are definitely ninth and Ighalo is a shameless penalty shooter.
The advantage of Ighalo’s competence extends to his superior. Anthony Martial has not completed a full game in any of the 11 available Ighalos and has started every national and European cup game on the bench. United carefully handled Martial’s playing time, aware of Rashford’s absence earlier in the year and his workload during Martial’s eight-week layoff between August and October. Martial has scored six in his last five starts starts.
Those finishes against Sheffield United were of a variety with which Marziale is not synonymous and Ighalo is a close example of the training camps in Carrington. The legacy and impact of Henrik Larsson’s loan to United in 2007 was heavily overstated, but Wayne Rooney’s conclusion following the Swede’s return to Helsingborg was more marked and his contribution to the run-in was more remarkable player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo. Many at United hope that Ighalo’s loan will be extended beyond January 1st.
If United had avoided another 30 minutes more, Ighalo’s inclusion would have masked Solskjaer’s erratic rotation, which he admitted to failing to remove three players in the 63rd minute, and then in his post-game debriefing. By Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Diogo Dalot, only one will likely travel to Brighton on Tuesday.
Every noteworthy manager has been guilty of tinkering and it is not the first time that Solskjaer has overestimated his team’s standard and underestimated the opposition. Norwich is not yet a league team and Solskjaer’s justification for selecting an almost identical XI to the one that rejected second-tier Derby County over 100 days ago was perverse.
The three simultaneous changes breathed an air of complacency in the management of the United game; a triple change usually indicates that the game is won when United are only 1-0 and Norwich has taken possession of their randomness. Not even the changes energized United; Rashford strutting to the rhythm of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
If Solskjaer hadn’t made a plethora of changes, United could have won the game and rested the players. Instead, they ended up giving the team players a breather, leaving regular customers to play longer than desired. The reason why overtime was not eliminated for games with five substitutions and drink breaks is staggering.
Lingard is such a shadow of the regular World Cup for England that Norwich in a neutral atmosphere is equivalent to being thrown in depth. His athleticism has impressed fitness staff in the pre-season and the blockade but he is in danger of becoming an athlete mistaken for a footballer. Lingard’s lack of alacrity on his first start in 114 days couldn’t be completely blamed for the football break.
Solskjaer did not ask Lingard to warm up at Tottenham, a reflection of his low position in a team with no confirmed injured striker. His role in his last two starts – crowded on his left side – he told it. Lingard played from the right, through the center, in midfield and even forward, but hardly ever from the left. It is at the bottom of the row, whatever the position. Dalot needs a loan.
It was a normal who spared United the ordeal of a 12-yard fixation game with Tim Krul. Harry Maguire was uninterested in every third measure of his opponent and was at his best in the Norwich penalty area, where he drowned like Ighalo.
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