Man Utd's late show sees off Omonia with McTominay finding the winner

Manchester United huffed and puffed but needed 92 minutes and a goal from Scott McTominay to breach the Omonia goal after having more than 30 attempts at Old Trafford.

The underdogs caused the Red Devils problems last week before eventually losing 3-2. They kept things much tighter in the return fixture, though, and almost frustrated their heavyweight opponents, who thought they were set for an embarrassing stalemate.

Francis Uzoho, Omonia's Nigerian goalkeeper, who himself is a fan of the Red Devils, was in inspired form as he continued to deny the home side with United's winner coming from an unlikely source in McTominay, who scored only his second ever goal in Europe.

Neil Lennon was looking to mastermind a win on a ground he won at during his days as a Leicester City player. The former Celtic boss thought he might just nick a point, but instead they were left with nothing but pride as United's Scottish midfielder smashed home.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen all tried their luck on a night that threatened to frustrate, but eventually went the way of the home side. Here are five talking points from Old Trafford.

1 Lacking a cutting edge

It must've felt like a little bit of deja vu. United dominated proceedings against their Cypriot opponents but couldn't make it count, much like last week. Their inability to turn that quality into goals meant they only won by the solitary goal seven days ago and at Old Trafford they again struggled to breakdown their opponents.

It has been a recurring theme through United's season. Whilst they've taken notable steps in the right direction, for all their attacking quality, Ten Hag's side are certainly struggling in the final third. Four of their five wins in the Premier League have come by one goal.

They've shown glimpses against the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City - hitting three past both. Yet against the likes of Leicester and Southampton they only scored once. Omonia were able to withstand United's efforts for more than 90 minutes. With a front three of Ronaldo, Rashford and Antony, Ten Hag will be expecting more potency in the final third as the season goes on, especially against teams who come to frustrate the Red Devils.

2 Rashford closing on top form

Getting the Englishman back firing may certainly help United's cause in attack. The forward looks a player reborn this term and already has five goals - the same amount he scored in the whole of last season. It must be said, were it not for an inspired Omonia goalkeeper, Rashford may have opened his account on the night in the early minutes. Nevertheless his movement, trickery and intent were reflective of the player who first burst onto the scene back in 2016.

The 24-year-old smashed the 20 goal barrier in his first two seasons under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag will want to get Rashford back to that sort of standard. The early signs are good - he is playing with so much confidence but was unable to convert chances you would expect him to, which remains the final piece of the jigsaw.

3 The left-back battle

Tyrell Malacia has been in possession of the starting spot, then out of it and now he's trying to wrestle it back. The man who starts in the Premier League will always be seen as first choice over the man who rocks up on a Thursday night. Currently it looks to be Luke Shaw who is favoured.

That wasn't the case earlier this season though. Malacia was hooked in the derby day mauling with Shaw playing in the win over Everton on Sunday. Thursday's clash gave the Dutchman the chance to further his case once again and it looks as if Ten Hag will chop and change between the pair going forward.

4 Qualification close

Thursday night football at Old Trafford is set to continue into the New Year with defeat for Sheriff at Real Sociedad putting United on the brink of qualification. The Red Devils will need to beat the Spanish side on their own patch if they want to progress as group winners, however.

The Premier League remains immensely competitive with six teams vying for the top four. Arsenal's impressive start and Liverpool's struggles has firmly upset the natural order and, much like in 2017 under Jose Mourinho, success in the Europa League could prove a shrewd route into the Champions League if Ten Hag cannot secure a top four finish.

5 The Pep influence

The Dutchman spent his early managerial career working in the Bayern Munich set-up when Pep Guardiola was calling the shots. The Catalan has revolutionised football in a number of ways, one of them being the use of full-backs to create an overload.

On Thursday night we saw Malacia and Diogo Dalot doing exactly that, which Owen Hargreaves noticed as he analysed his former side. He said on BT Sport: "We seen it at Ajax but the full-backs are coming inside, you see Dalot in there - we see it from Pep and his teams and United are doing it today.

"It's not just Dalot doing it, Malacia, he's been in the centre of midfield, he goes inside and eventually goes outside. He's looking to overload inside so they can get a numerical advantage."

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