ETH will make his squad goals abundantly clear to owners

THAT was a concise clarification from Erik ten Hag on his conflab with Jadon Sancho: "I was not in discussions. I gave him some instructions."

- SAMUEL LUCKHURST

Sancho was ineffectual on the left but was summoned to the touchline to prepare for a role switch to the opposite flank. It was from the right that Sancho teed up Anthony Martial to tap in.

Sancho's second half started better than his first, with a lay-off that Bruno Fernandes hammered That was against the woodwork sharper decision-making than when Sancho dithered on the ball and played it behind Christian Eriksen, eliciting groans from the crowd.

At United, staff like the 'good kid' Sancho and Ten Hag is still hothousing the 23-year-old. Ten Hag has privately expressed frustration about Sancho's development in a season he was absent for three months through physical and mental reasons.

United and Sancho have come full circle - he was identified as the panacea for their right-sided ills and Sancho is now back there, despite preferring to play on the left. An FA Cup final start has gone from possible to probable after Antony was unable to put weight on his ankle.

This has been a successful season for United but an unsuccessful one for Sancho. He is two seasons in at United and yesteryear he would not get a third.