Manchester United are making tactical progress with three players

A Europa League campaign that began with three draws for Manchester United ended with five wins. You can pinpoint when they sacked the manager.

Of the five victories, the last against FCSB was the most serene once the team's balance was redressed at half-time with the introductions of Amad and Alejandro Garnacho. Starting four attack-minded players was remiss of Ruben Amorim and United's most assertive attacker in the first half was a defender, Lisandro Martinez.

Kobbie Mainoo was the story of the night with his first goal since the FA Cup final. In an advanced role, he had three goalscoring opportunities, converted one and tallied an assist. It was not a coincidence Mainoo got his first goal and first assist of the season following his relocation.

Ever since he enriched the United team last season, Mainoo has appeared capable of transitioning into a playmaker role. He got his first goals in his first starts next to Casemiro, the sentry while Mainoo stormed forward.

Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets were the players for Mainoo's generation to imitate. Football has already evolved but Mainoo was hot-housed in the United academy as a possession-based midfielder.

During United's triumphant FA Youth Cup campaign in 2022, the pocket dynamos Mainoo, Dan Gore and Sam Mather were so accomplished with their close ball control and balance that they could have been mistaken for graduates from La Masia. Gary Neville said after Mainoo's full Premier League debut at Everton that he reminded him of a City-bred player - a midfielder moulded by Pep Guardiola, famed for upgrading Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets to the status of world-class.

Watching Mainoo, there are undeniable shades of Iniesta, who started out as a midfielder but