Ten Hag masterclass: Sancho played in different position on his Manchester United return

Manchester United's Jadon Sancho celebrates after the match.

REUTERS/Phil Noble

Manchester United booked their first trip to Wembley since May 2018 following a comfortable 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final.

Erik ten Hag didn’t show much desire to experiment with his lineup and fielded a strong starting XI despite going into the tie with a 3-0 aggregate advantage. However, the Dutch coach wasn’t afraid of deploying his players in different roles.

Jadon Sancho received a brilliant reception from the Old Trafford crowd when he came off the bench, as he made his first appearance in just over 100 days. The 22-year-old returned the favour by producing an encouraging performance from the middle of the attack.

The United boss shifted Bruno Fernandes to the right flank and instructed Sancho to operate behind Anthony Martial.

His return to action was exciting on its own, but Ten Hag’s decision to play the Englishman as the No. 10 only made the night more rousing at the Theatre of Dreams.

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Sancho’s cameo certainly did the trick against Forest, as the Red Devils scored two second-half goals to keep their home-winning run going.

Ten Hag’s creative game management also saw Victor Lindelof have a run as United’s defensive midfielder. The centre-back replaced Casemiro for the final 10 minutes of the game and helped his side keep another clean sheet.