It may have been the EFL Cup, and it may have been a weakened West Ham team, but Manchester United played some fantastic football en route to a comfortable 4-1 win despite letting their opponents back into the game before half time.
A goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with a delightful Mkhitaryan assist, was then added to by two strikes from Anthony Martial, one of which was again assisted by the Armenian playmaker that has delighted the supporters in his last two starts, before Zlatan finished the scoring after a great Ander Herrera assist.
The tempo with which their attacks were built was exactly the type of football that Manchester United fans have seen too little of in recent seasons, and it seems as though the combination of Martial on the left wing with Mkhitaryan on the right is what they want to see going forward.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was again on the scoresheet, his 10th goal of the season, so are these three, with one of the ever improving Wayne Rooney or Juan Mata the most effective for the team going forward?
Many journalists as well as the fans, at least on social media, seem to think so as the pair of wide-men were showered with praise for their performance.
United's front three of 2010 Rooney, Last season's Martial and Bundesliga Mkhitaryan look good. They should play more often.
— Rob Dawson (@RobDawsonMEN) November 30, 2016
Hats off to Mkhitaryan and Martial for proving their worth tonight #MUFC #ManUnited #TheSpecialOne #GloryGloryManUnited
— Blessing Sithole (@BlessingTsb) November 30, 2016
With Rooney now out of the game against Everton, the front 4 has to be Mkhitaryan, Mata, Martial & Zlatan. All full of confidence #MUFC
— Everything Man Utd (@everything_utd) November 30, 2016
Another brilliantly worked goal. Who'd have thought starting Ibrahimovic, Mkhitaryan and Martial would work a treat...
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) November 30, 2016
Surely time for Mkhitaryan and Martial to be more than stand-ins.
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) November 30, 2016
Mourinho now knows his best front three: Ibrahimovic, Mkhitaryan and Martial. Gotta start more games together. #MUFC
— Andy O'Brien (@andy_obrien1993) November 30, 2016
Jesse Lingard's a good squad player, but shouldn't be ahead of Martial or Mkhitaryan in the starting XI. Not a chance.
— Liam Canning (@LiamPaulCanning) November 30, 2016
Martial scores from another Mkhitaryan assist. As if these two shouldn't be playing every week. Both have been electric.
— Liam Canning (@LiamPaulCanning) November 30, 2016
It was another thrilling performance from Mkhitaryan, and a huge confidence boost to Anthony Martial, so both will now be expected to start against Everton at the weekend.
The question is, what about Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard? Both have been featuring regularly under Mourinho, but both have been inconsistent in their form. Both would be energetic and exciting options to spring from the bench, and in the case of Rashford it may be more benefitial to see less time, especially if it is out on the wing. He has shown what he is capable of, and there's no need to rush.
Then it becomes about getting Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, and Michael Carrick into the same team, along with one or both of Juan Mata.
It's a selection headache, and while usually that is a positive thing, the lack of being able to put the same team out has clearly been a negative for United this season. Still, with performances like the ones Martial, Ibrahimovic, and Mkhitaryan put in tonight, there won't be any headaches going forward.
