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Following a crucial victory over Manchester City, a former Red Devil was quick to highlight the impact the Welshman has had at Old Trafford this term
Daniel James produced an “unbelievable” performance against Manchester City on Saturday, according to Peter Schmeichel, who thinks the winger has been a “fantastic signing” for Manchester United.
The Red Devils put their local rivals to the sword at the Etihad Stadium with a breath-taking counterattacking display, to move up to fifth in the Premier League table.
A Marcus Rashford penalty and a superb Anthony Martial effort gave the visitors a healthy lead heading in at the break, with City unable to cope with their pace in the final third of the pitch.
The reigning champions did haul themselves back into the game via Nicolas Otamendi’s 85th-minute header, but it was too little too late for Pep Guardiola’s men.
United’s 2-1 victory was arguably the best result of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign to date, completing a superb week which also included a 2-1 home win over Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham.
James, who was a £15 million ($20m) summer arrival produced another stellar showing on the right-hand side of a front four, linking up with Rashford, Martial and Jesse Lingard to great effect, while also helping to relieve any pressure with his pace and dribbling ability.
Ex-United goalkeeper Schmeichel was full of praise for the Wales international post-match, as he told Premier League Productions: “Someone who is not going to grab the headlines is Daniel James.
“He was unbelievable, chasing every ball, he was in every counterattack and, at the same time, he was doubling up with [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka on the right-hand side.
“Ryan [Giggs] must be so happy to see one of his players perform so well.
“He’s played every single game this season and he’s still playing well. That’s a fantastic signing and he played fantastic.”
Schmeichel felt Solskjaer got his tactics spot on against City, successfully “exploiting their weaknesses” at the back throughout the 90 minutes.
“It was a big day for them. They now have an incredible belief,” he said. “In the same week they’ve beaten Tottenham, they’ve beaten Manchester City. That’s gotta mean something for them.
“I think tactically they got it inch-perfect in terms of how they were exploiting Man City’s weaknesses.
“Man City are 14 points behind [Liverpool] because they can’t defend. It’s as simple as that.
“[Aymeric] Laporte is out, they haven’t replaced [Vincent] Kompany… they can now concentrate on winning the Champions League but they have to defend much better than that.
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“That was exploited by Manchester United.”
United will now turn their attention to a Europa League clash against AZ at Old Trafford on Thursday, when they can secure top spot in Group L with a draw or a win.
Solskjaer will then prepare his side for another vital Premier League encounter at home to Everton on December 15, as the festive period starts to get into full swing.
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