Manchester United played five matches in the Premier League, and the UEFA Europa League and the Carabao Cup during the month of November. United started the month poorly with a 1-0 defeat away to Bournemouth after a largely positive October. United then got back to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League, securing their place in the latter stages of the competition.
Back in Premier League action three days later, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side welcomed Brighton and Hove Albion to Old Trafford, beating them 3-1, scoring three goals in the last two consecutive matches. Positivity at last and the start to the end of the injury spell at the club. After the match, club football was on the hiatus for a fortnight because of the final international break of 2019.
To end the month, United drew 3-3 against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in the Premier League, coming from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 before a controversial goal, given by VAR shared the points on offer with United seemingly beaten for 70 minutes of the match. The Reds travelled to Kazakhstan for their penultimate Europa League clash, losing 2-1 to Astana but still topping the group.
Mason Greenwood – five appearances, 209 minutes, two goals and one assist.
The 18-year-old has made five appearances in November, playing 209 minutes of football, scoring two goals and one assist, meaning that he has scored a goal every 104.5 minutes and has a goal involvement every 69.6 minutes. It may something that aligns him with the likes of Robert Lewandowski but for a player who has risen from the academy, lacks first team experience and is making a name for himself, these stats are admirable. Greenwood is a good rotational player and playing with more experienced players, it will enable him to raise his game some more.
Marcus Rashford – four appearances, 337 minutes, three goals and one assist.
Marcus Rashford has the more impressive goalscoring and assisting stats in the month of November. The 22-year-old made four appearances across November, for his club anyway, scoring three goals and assisting another, playing a total of 337 minutes of football. This means he has scored a goal every 112.3 minutes, having a goal involvement every 84.25 minutes. In his last eight matches, for both club and country, Rashford has managed to score eight goals, which shows he is in great form at this moment in time and probably a player who will, in the end, win the Player of the Month award for November.
Brandon Williams – three appearances, 190 minutes, one goal plus determination, desire and fight to succeed.
Brandon Williams has made three appearances in November, playing 190 minutes of football which resulted in him scoring his first goal for the club, the goal which put United back in the match last weekend against Sheffield United, inspiring United to score two more goals in seven minutes, seeing United take the lead for the first time in the match. However, a late equaliser led to points being dropped. Williams has the desire, determination and fight to succeed at United. For me, he is head and shoulders ahead of Luke Shaw in the left-back position, which is win/win after five years of stagnation in that position.
Notable Mention: Scott McTominay, three appearances, 255 minutes, one goal
Scott McTominay missed the last two matches due to injury, although he would not have travelled to Kazakhstan anyway. The 22-year-old has risen to become one of the better midfielders at the club and you can see just why Jose Mourinho valued the player as highly as he did. McTominay made three appearances in November, playing 255 minutes of football and scoring one goal, which at the time was adjudged to be an own goal against Brighton and Hove Albion. Hopefully, in December, McTominay will rise up and show his ability and perhaps be in the running for December’s Player of the Month award.
Who is your Player of the Month for November 2019?
A look at what lies ahead in December…
In December, United will play nine matches, which looks set to be a busy period for Solskjaer and his squad. They will start the month at home to Aston Villa (1/12), then to Tottenham Hotspur three days later (4/12). An away match to Manchester City then follows (7/12) before home matches against AZ Alkmaar (12/12), Everton (15/12), and Colchester United (18/12). United then face Watford away (22/12), Newcastle United at home (26/12) and Burnley away (28/12) to end the month.
