It was neither a descent deeper into crisis or an uplifting, reinvigorating comeback. No thrilling highs this time sadly but on the plus side, no crushing lows. And in that respect, it was exactly what Manchester United needed: the type of routine victory that there have been precious few examples of this season.
New year, new United? Well, steady on. On a night of 33 shots on goal and many wasted opportunities, Erik ten Hag and his players could only be absolutely confident of beating Wigan Athletic — a side sitting some 53 places below them in the English football pyramid — once they finally went two up with a quarter of an hour remaining.
United did not need that two-goal cushion to feel comfortable, though. Even before Bruno Fernandes’ dubiously-won penalty and pretty much from Diogo Dalot’s early breakthrough onwards, safe passage to the FA Cup fourth round seemed likely against League One opponents who were largely kept at arm’s length.
And so for only the third time this season, Ten Hag could celebrate a win by more than one goal. So too could Sir Dave Brailsford, who was joined in the DW Stadium’s directors’ box by Jean-Claude Blanc, expected to be the next chief executive, and attended his third game since the announcement of INEOS’ minority investment over Christmas.
In meetings with players and staff last week, Brailsford spoke of how he knows what world class, elite-level performance looks like. It does not look like the dismal display he witnessed in defeat to Nottingham Forest at the close of the year. But it does not look like the life and death of the fightback against Aston Villa either.
Or a cup tie in Wigan, to be fair. But a lot of the time, elite performance is a matter of simply getting the job done, as United did at the DW. The days of Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill — the former chief executive who, interestingly, sat alongside Brailsford — were built upon this sort of professional and unexceptional win: beating what’s in front of you as comfortably, forgettably and as painlessly as possible, then onto the next one.
Brailsford was flanked by Gill, left, and Blanc (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Painlessly being the operative word. With Antony missing through injury and Christian Eriksen succumbing to illness, United were without 13 first team squad members in total. That forced Ten Hag to not only play a strong line-up but name a bench with a grand total of 45 senior appearances for the club between them, more than half of those belonging to Facundo Pellistri.
Fortunately, United left Wigan without adding to that list of absentees. Ten Hag said he expects Eriksen, Luke Shaw and potentially Harry Maguire to be in contention to return against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. But most encouragingly of all, some of the younger players stepping in during this injury crisis are seizing their opportunities.
Kobbie Mainoo was the best player on the pitch, but in keeping with every other aspect of this United performance, even that is no longer particularly remarkable. In the type of physical, abrasive setting that other United academy graduates are sent out on loan to experience, the 18-year-old more than held his own. It is increasingly hard to argue that a fit-again Casemiro should displace him at the base of United’s midfield.
Mainoo was not afraid of the physical battle at Wigan (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
Out wide, without Antony available, Alejandro Garnacho once again impressed playing off the right, showing more threat with his weaker foot than the absent Brazilian has when cutting onto his natural side all season. Marcus Rashford was more erratic on the other flank, let down by his decision-making, but still showed encouraging purpose. Ten Hag has struggled for the right combination of wingers for many months but may finally have found it.
And although Rasmus Hojlund was unable to follow up his goal against Villa in his last outing, and generally had a night to forget, he was at least far more involved than usual. Four shots was the most he has had in a single appearance. Neither he, Rashford or Garnacho may have scored, but as against Villa, this attack looked like the most natural fit for the direct, transitional style Ten Hag wants to play.
None of which can be easily divorced from the fact United were up against a side sitting in the bottom half of the third tier. But then that is the FA Cup for you, and there may be one or two more favourable ties to come too. This competition is slightly more open for United now than it was before the start of the third round.
Next up, Ten Hag’s side will visit the second or third-lowest ranked side left — Eastleigh, mid-table in the National League, or Newport County, in the lower reaches of League Two. Meanwhile, Arsenal are out, and at least one more of the so-called ‘big six’ will be gone by the fifth round with Tottenham hosting holders Manchester City.
As his domestic cup team selections last season suggested, Ten Hag was never going to take the FA Cup lightly. “I don’t think it would change if we were still in Europe,” he said. “It’s a massive competition everyone wants to win, every manager is eager to win. Every game, you take this serious.”
But with no Europe, and only faint hopes of securing the top-four or five finish required to return to the Champions League, United have little choice but to “take this serious”.
The FA Cup offers a chance for a team to make amends for a miserable season up to this point, for a manager to prove he is the right person to take the club forward, and for the new hierarchy to make a start on restoring better days. After all, it was not just the wins that once came as routine at Old Trafford, but the trophies too.
(Top photo: Dave Howarth – CameraSport via Getty Images)