United were trailing 2-1 with just under half an hour left on the clock and their hopes of derailing City's treble hopes were fading.
Bruno Fernandes, despite scoring the penalty to bring the Reds level in the first half, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho had failed to lay so much as a glove on City's strong and dependable defence, meaning a tweak of some sort was needed.
Injuries to Anthony Martial and Antony in the build-up to the FA Cup final meant Ten Hag had to reshuffle his forward line, tasking Fernandes with starting on the right and Rashford through the middle.
Had everyone been fit and available, Antony would have almost certainly started on the right, Martial down the centre and Rashford on the left.
Nevertheless, a front-three boasting a 30-goal forward and two bigmoney signings should have done more to make City think than it did.
This story is from the June 07, 2023 edition of Manchester Evening News.
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This story is from the June 07, 2023 edition of Manchester Evening News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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