As the seconds ticked down in San Sebastián, the desperation began for Manchester United. Their game plan focusing on calmness, composure, and creativity in possession unravelled, and a route one approach was adopted.
For all the dreams of a possession-based approach that sees United methodically carve open their opponents like an expert surgeon, in the heat of the moment they opted for emergency surgery.
This was consequentialist football: if United were to get the result they wanted, then it didn't matter how it happened, even if that meant abandoning the core principles so central to Erik ten Hag's approach.
