Astana 2-1 Man United: Three major talking points from the game

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Bengaluru, Nov 29: A Manchester United team full of budding youngsters almost managed to pull out a result only to succumb to a 2-1 defeat at Kazakhstan at the end.

United captain of the night Jesse Lingard put them ahead in the 10th minute with a low curler from 20 metres but in the second half, two quick goals from Dmitri Shomko and a Di’Shon Bernard own goal turned the match to the home side's favour.

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Manchester United are already through as they are guaranteed to end above Partizan Belgrade due to superior head-to-head record. But the loss to Astana now opens up the opportunity for Alkmaar to take control of the group if they win against the Red Devils in the penultimate game.

Here are the three major talking points from the match:

Academy youngsters shine

Solskjaer handed debuts to several youngsters and most of them took the opportunities to utilise it properly. Three debutants who started the game, Levitt, Laird and Bernard looked promising while other budding stars like Garner, Angel Gomes and Mason Greenwood too were impressive in the whole game. Although, the team they faced maybe a bit lesser competitive than United's actual opponents however surely it was a good learning curve for the academy starlets in an away game.

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Lingard finally breaks the deadlock

The 27-year-old was handed the armband as the most experienced outfield player on the pitch and the academy star did not mislead and got into the action early by scoring a goal. It was his first goal in 10 months and it came in a sublime fashion. The number 10 of the United squad has had a fine game overall however could not help his side to a win. Solskjaer surely wanted to have an answer in light of Lingard’s recent poor form and surely grabbed it with both hands.

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Shaw struggles on return

Luke Shaw made a return to the lineup after almost a 3-month injury layoff and precisely it did not go well. Defensively he was caught out several times and his forward runs too sometimes left space for opponents to utilise it. Another academy starlet Brandon Williams in his absence has provided much-needed solidity in the left-back and given his fine form, Shaw now may struggle to break into the first team now. And going by his latest highlight against Astana, he may now have to work harder further even to be ahead of Ashley Young.