Solskjaer’s youthful Man Utd XI in Europa League had had disastrous sucess rate

In November 2019, Kazakhstani side Astana pulled off the biggest result in their history by beating the mighty Manchester United 2-1.

Except, it wasn’t quite the famous Red Devils who football fans around the world knew of. Instead, it was a highly experimental XI selected by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who at that time was nearing one year in the job and still constructing his slow and steady rebuild.

When United had already secured safe passage through to the Europa League knockout stage in the 2019-20 season, their legendary player-turned-manager decided to hand out a whopping seven debuts – six of them teenagers – in a bid to see how they’d fare in the big time. Unfortunately, squandering a 1-0 lead wasn’t the fairytale night which many of the fledglings dream of – nor were their subsequent Old Trafford careers.

Defence

Starting at the back, there was somewhat of a paradox between the posts. At 36 years and 305 days old, Lee Grant became the oldest ever player to make his debut in major European competition for Manchester United, excluding qualifiers. He couldn’t do much about Astana’s two goals and the match proved to be his second and final appearance for the Red Devils, despite not leaving Old Trafford until May 2022 to join former colleague Kieran McKenna’s coaching staff at Ipswich Town.

At the back, Ethan Laird was deployed on the right-hand side. The 21-year-old is still contracted to United and spending the season out on loan with Queens Park Rangers, although many expected more from him by now given his performances in the academy. On the other side was Luke Shaw and he remains the firm first-choice at left-back for new boss Erik ten Hag, having revitalised his career under Solskjaer.

At the heart of defence stood Axel Tuanzebe and Di’Shon Bernard. While Tuanzebe had been in and around the first-team setup for three years prior to the trip to Astana, Bernard’s debut was a rough one. Sadly for the Wandsworth-born ace, his own goal sealed Astana’s win and the first points of their floundering Europa League campaign.

The highly rated Tuanzebe, now 25, is still hopeful of a proper chance at Old Trafford following a series of mixed loan spells, with injuries often shoving him out of sliding door situations while with the Red Devils. And Bernard also remains on the books, having returned to United this season after spending last term at Hull City and making an impressive 28 appearances.

Midfield

Moving into midfield, James Garner and Dylan Levitt acted as a double pivot. Both tipped for big things, their best career feats have come away from Old Trafford. Garner, who joined Everton in a permanent deal this summer to the shock of many Red Devils fans, shone over 18 months at Nottingham Forest as he helped them secure promotion to the Premier League.

Levitt, on the other hand, was already a full Wales international during Ryan Giggs ‘ reign as boss. But the bitter cold night in Kazakhstan goes down as his only ever appearance for United. And he’s now playing for another, namely Dundee. The silky midfielder was also included in Wales’ squad for the World Cup but didn’t make an appearance.

Ahead of them in the No.10 role was stand-in captain Jesse Lingard. Then tipped to be central to Solskjaer’s grand plans in Manchester, Lingard’s drilled goal in the 10th minute promised a straightforward night for the visitors. But like his time with the Red Devils and Solskjaer’s rebuild, the game didn’t go as planed. Having left the club this past summer after 22 years connected to Old Trafford, the former England international is attempting to find his feet at Nottingham Forest.

Forwards

Into the attack now and arguably the most disappointing area of the pitch for fans to look back on. Leading the line was the uber-talented Mason Greenwood, who’s been suspended by the club for almost an entire year and is set to be back in court in November 2023 to face charges of attempted rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Flanking him were Angel Gomes and Tahith Chong, also tipped for big things. As Nani ‘s godson, Gomes was dubbed as one of the brightest talents to emerge from United’s factory for years. Yet the ex-England under-17 captain would leave the club six months after the loss to Astana, joining Lille upon the expiry of his contract. He’s still with them and enjoying his football as a regular starter.

As for Chong, he cut ties with the Red Devils over the summer to sign for Birmingham City on a permanent basis. A direct and dangerous winger, his performance in Kazakhstan was blighted by a guilt-edged miss which would’ve made it 2-0 to United just minutes before Astana hit back with two quick-fire goals in the second half.

And a word on Solskjaer’s three substitutes: D’Mani Mellor, Largie Ramazani and Ethan Galbraith. Mellor was also released this past June and now plays for Wycombe Wanderers in League One. Galbraith, meanwhile, remains a Red Devil and is spending this season on loan at neighbours Salford City – where he’s also aiming to impress the Northern Ireland setup and build on his two senior caps.

Ramazani’s name is perhaps the least known to English fans, but the Belgian winger – still only 21 – has made a superb 77 appearances for LaLiga outfit Almeria over two-and-a-half seasons since departing Manchester, having helped the Spaniards return to their native top flight in May.

It was only two months ago when Ramazani opened up on his United career, particularly focussing on his one and only first-team outing. In an interview with Gazet van Antwerpen, Almeria’s starlet suggested that being handed his debut by Solskjaer was an attempt to try and convince him to sign a new deal at Old Trafford.

“I was almost at the end of my contract, and I had a good season with the second team,” the Belgium under-21 international explained. “Almost half of the reserves were allowed to go to Astana. I was even allowed to join.

“I did train a few times, but that would be the only time I could play with the senior team. Did they do that because I played a good season, and I could help the team? Or because they wanted me to extend my contract?

“Debuting for United is like a dream, and Jesse Lingard, Luke Shaw but also Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay were very helpful for young players. But it didn’t convince me: I knew they’d loan me out if I signed up. I had Marcus Rashford in front of me, Daniel James, Tahith Chong. What was the point of playing another season with the reserves? So, I wanted to try elsewhere.”

Judging by this bunch’s fortunes, he was quite right to.