The clock is ticking away for Van de Beek.

Donny van de Beek had not started a game for Manchester United in over a year, and even his most recent one was a meaningless Champions League match against Young Boys. Over the course of the previous two years, he had hardly even been considered a minor player.

The appointment of Erik ten Hag was intended to serve as a new beginning for him; however, an injury has made life challenging for him in the early weeks of the season, and as a result, he was undoubtedly a surprising starter in Spain.

It was almost like watching him try out for the role of replacing the suspended Portuguese playmaker at Aston Villa on Sunday when he played in the advanced role against Real Sociedad with Bruno Fernandes on the right side of the field.

He was able to adapt to the circumstances and finally have an effect here. Ten Hag believes that he delivers his best performances when he is playing in his best position, and he also had the support of a manager at Ajax who was successful in developing him as a player. However, he had a difficult time getting a hold of the ball and making any kind of contribution to the game.

If this was his opportunity to secure a place in the side, then Ten Hag has some questions to answer about what he should have done differently. Van de Beek's best contribution came when his team was out of possession; his marking job on Martin Zubimendi made it difficult for the home team to build up play. However, if he wants to play as a No. 10, he needs to provide more than just that type of performance.

Van de Beek will undoubtedly have additional opportunities, and it is only fair to point out that he is still working on building up his match fitness; however, he is beginning to run out of chances to prove himself with this club.When David de Gea makes use of his hands in this manner, discussions regarding the manner in which he employs his feet become increasingly superfluous. Another solid performance was turned in by a United goalkeeper who appears to be in the midst of one of his hot streaks.

It's only been about two months since there were significant doubts about De Gea's ability to play for a Ten Hag team, but those doubts are still present. In a certain sense, that debate is still ongoing; however, as the Dutchman has been pointing out in recent statements, the primary responsibility of a goalkeeper is to prevent the ball from entering the goal, and De Gea has been performing quite admirably in this regard in recent games.

At the weekend, he played a significant role in West Ham United not scoring, and when he was first called into serious action in San Sebastian, he continued his perfect performance from there. His first stop against Andoni Gorosabel was incredible, as was the speed he displayed to get across the field and prevent Pablo Marin from scoring.

Due to the deficiencies that Luis Enrique sees with De Gea's feet, it is almost certain that he will not be going to the World Cup with Spain. However, on the basis of his current play, he is an undroppable goalkeeper for Manchester United.

An excessive advance

If United end up having to play a play-off against Barcelona or Juventus in February when the Europa League draw is held next week, or if a fixture pile-up that costs them points at the end of the season, then it won't be last night that they look back on, but rather the night that they lost to Real Sociedad on September 8, or even the night that they failed to score more than once against Omonia Nicosia at home. Those are the nights that they will remember.

The fact that this team had only won an away game by more than one goal once in their previous 15 road trips - and that victory came in Moldova - meant that it was always going to be a tall order for them to win by two goals against an experienced opponent. United attempted to take the initiative, but they lacked the cutting edge in the final third of the field, which has been a recurring issue for them throughout this campaign.

They are unquestionably a much stronger team than they were on the first day of this competition, when they suffered a defeat at the hands of La Real in their own stadium. It is obvious that progress has been made.

However, in order for them to continue their European journey into March, they may now have to win a very challenging knockout tie. Even if they are successful in this endeavor, it may only add to the difficulty of their scheduling for the remainder of the season.

Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C

Even though Ten Hag's substitutions in the second half appeared to throw off the balance of the game for United, he will undoubtedly face some criticism for them. However, it appeared as though the changes had at least been planned.

Ten Hag has stated that he had a plan A, plan B, and plan C to win this game by two goals, and if this was the second of those, the third involved Harry Maguire playing up front. The sight of Victor Lindelof being replaced by Scott McTominay clearly raised eyebrows, but Ten Hag has stated that he had a plan A, plan B, and plan C to win this game by two goals.

The alterations did not result in United becoming a threat; however, they had not really been a threat for some time. When you consider that they only had one real opportunity to score in the first half of this match, the notion that they were in complete command of it seems like an exaggeration.

In the second half, they had a difficult time getting their attacking players involved, and even going for the long ball didn't generate much of a threat until the frantic final five minutes of injury time.

The adjustments made by Ten Hag did not have the desired effect, but this was yet another night in which United's lack of originality was a cause for concern.

The significance of Rashford

The decision to bench Marcus Rashford on a night that was loaded with significance for United was arguably the most risky rotation gamble that Ten Hag has taken to this point in his tenure as manager of United.

Ten Hag has limited the amount of tinkering he does with the team's lineup ever since the loss to Real Sociedad at Old Trafford on September 8. He is well aware of the importance of securing first place in the Europa League.

However, due to the fact that the Premier League was gaining steam and Rashford was becoming an increasingly important player, Ten Hag believed that it was necessary to give his team's leading scorer some time off this season. This was especially true considering that Rashford had only just recently recovered from a muscle injury.

Ten Hag will hope that the trade-off was worth it when they play each other at Villa Park on Sunday. There was always a chance that he would be needed off the bench, and it proved to be the case in the second half.