Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek was visibly frustrated in the United dugout when he was not called up to play as a substitute. On Wednesday, Cristiano Ronaldo’s late winner helped United garner three points, but their struggle to penetrate through the Villarreal defence was obvious.
United’s defensive frailties were exposed time and again by Danjuma on the left-flank, who himself had plenty of clear goal-scoring chances. However, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer once again overlooked van de Beek, and it was indeed a talking point as he could not make it as any of the five substitutes that were allowed.
While midfielder Fred and Jesse Lingard were being prepared to come on in the 88th minute, the Dutchman was spotted infuriated and frustrated right behind the touchline.
Paul Pogba was right next to him, trying to console the 24-year-old, but the incident did not pick up much airtime as United managed to find a last-gasp winner from Ronaldo, which had Lingard at the heart of things.
Ever since van de Beek left Ajax for United, he has found it difficult get minutes under his belt. Last season, he made most of his appearances in the cup games and Europa League whilst Premier League action remained a luxury for him. He made 19 appearances in the League, but got just over eight and a half hours of playing time.
However, Solskjaer had denied him a loan move to Everton as he had plans for the player. He has not started in any of the Premier League games for the club, making just one appearance against Newcastle (4-1), coming in with just five minutes of normal time remaining.
Manchester United have a tricky set of fixtures in the coming weeks, starting with home game against Everton on October 2. After the international break, they will travel to the King Power to play Leicester City (October 16), followed by the Champions League game against Atalanta (October 20) and one of their biggest games of the season, versus Liverpool, at Old Trafford (October 24).
With the fixtures getting so congested, perhaps the manager will find a way to rotate and fit Van de Beek in his plans.
