One change for the derby?
The XI Erik ten Hag selected was as expected and the strongest on form and player availability. Nine of the starters will head off on international duty in the coming days and, barring injury, almost all of them should start against Manchester City in two weeks on Sunday.
Had Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial been in Moldova, one of them would have likely lined up ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, an impatient performer against Real Sociedad last week who got off the mark for the campaign with his penalty.
Rashford has started all six of United's Premier League games and tallied three goals and two assists in his last four games. Rashford's muscular injury affords him greater time to recover for the derby at the Etihad, where he has scored twice in Manchester red.
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Overlooking Casemiro against City's fleet-footed midfielders may seem dicey but the tempo would be the highest he has ever witnessed in a game and if Casemiro is to make the XI it would not necessarily be at McTominay's expense.
Martinez breaks the lines for breakthrough
Lisandro Martinez's pass for Ronaldo in the 15th minute did not lead to a goal as Ronaldo tumbled desperately, but it was as good a breakthrough for United. They scored two minutes later through Jadon Sancho.
Martinez's distribution and ability to play line-breaking passes that either start or accelerate attacks is as much of an asset as his uncompromising defending. Ten Hag will have intimate knowledge of that from developing Martinez at Ajax and the Argentinian plays as cultured as a Dutchman.
The Ajax scouting report of Martinez from January 2017 was prescient: "He plays as a left center back and has a good technique with pinpoint short and long passes."
Sancho response might finally put pressure on Grealish
Hours after his omission from the England squad for the fourth get-together running, Sancho claimed his third goal of the season. The winger did not score his third until February last season and, with every United managerial appointment, he has improved.
England staff have never quite taken to Sancho and some felt he was unfocused during the European Championship until his transfer to United was concluded. Those misgivings are rather churlish when Sancho is performing for United and he is treated differently to certain compatriots.
More than a year in at Manchester City, Jack Grealish has underwhelmed and started once in the Premier League this season. He commanded a £100million fee but such is the lack of scrutiny of City that he has flown under the radar and made Gareth Southgate's squad.
Ronaldo extends record
A penalty was required to end the drought but Ronaldo ensured he would not go without a club goal in August and September, a run that stretches back to 2004.
The celebration police will have taken umbrage with Ronaldo showcasing his signature celebration against Moldovan champions when it is that insatiable appetite for goals that separates him from every other player to have played the game.
Ronaldo needed a goal to temper the criticism and exert some pressure on Ten Hag as he mulls over his derby XI.
Excellent Eriksen
Christian Eriksen should be a shoo-in for the United player of the month award and is at least worthy of nomination for the Premier League equivalent.
As soon as United got Eriksen involved, they asserted themselves, started to control proceedings and scored through his assist for Sancho.
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