It was a catalytic cameo. If Manchester United salvage something from this least impressive of seasons, perhaps Bastian Schweinsteiger's quarter of an hour against West Ham will prove telling.
Certainly he exerted an influence. Too much of one, the Hammers argued.
The German was accused of bundling goalkeeper Darren Randolph into the net as Anthony Martial volleyed in United’s equaliser. Even before then, he had brought vocal leadership and a sense of direction to a side that invariably has a midfield malaise when Marouane Fellaini is on the pitch.
“He did fantastically,” said manager Louis van Gaal. He helped avert a third successive defeat.
Now, with the prospect of a chastening Europa League exit to historic enemies in Liverpool, the Dutchman ought to restore his old ally to the starting 11. Fellaini floundered at Anfield, despite Van Gaal's praise for him. Schweinsteiger made his comeback then after two months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
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Two brief appearances may not render him fully fit, and Van Gaal tends to be cautious about restoring players to the team, but the stakes have been raised to such a level that a notoriously cautious manager has to take a risk.
United trail 2-0 after the first leg. They have only overcome such a deficit twice in Europe. The first, in 1984, featured a performance of dynamism and drive from a midfield general, in Bryan Robson, as Barcelona were beaten 3-0.
Schweinsteiger is no longer the buccaneering box-to-box presence he was, or that Robson was in his heyday.
“I cannot say that he was the Schweinsteiger from my period in Munich,” said Van Gaal bluntly in December after substituting him in the must-win Champions League game at Wolfsburg. That, as others swiftly noted, was why Bayern were willing to sell a talisman. United bought a player in decline and his performances have reflected that even he, like everyone else, has been hampered.
This is his first European knockout game at Old Trafford since he was sent off playing for Bayern in the 2014 Champions League quarter-finals. Despite his injury-time exit, Schweinsteiger was a scorer and a plausible candidate for man of the match then.
Now that his physical powers have diminished, he represents less of a goal threat. Schweinsteiger now needs to use speed of thought to compensate for the lack of speed. It may put him at a disadvantage against a quicker Liverpool team who play their pressing game at ferocious pace.
Including last week’s first leg, a game when the damage had been done before he entered, he has only won once in his last four meetings with Jurgen Klopp’s teams. When Van Gaal ordered him to play a high pressing game at Arsenal in October, it was a disaster. Schweinsteiger was obviously unsuitable. United were 3-0 down after 20 minutes.
Yet the reality is that they have too few midfielders who can match Liverpool for energy and acceleration. Michael Carrick, Juan Mata and Fellaini cannot.
They have to find another way to plot a path past them. It will require a footballing brain, precision of passing and an aptitude for the big occasion. A feature of waning greats is that many can rouse themselves to provide the occasional reminder of past glories.
The man of the match in the last World Cup final is the sort of character who may be able to oblige.
It is worth noting Germany manager Joachim Low’s response when Van Gaal criticised Schweinsteiger. “He’s still a world-class player,” he said.
United have seen too little evidence of that.
Their propensity for sideways passing is illustrated by the fact that, of the 12 games Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin have started together, six have finished goalless. Now the imperative will be to abandon that approach, to get the ball forward, to pierce holes in the Liverpool defence, to unleash attackers such as Anthony Martial.
United require Schweinsteiger’s intelligence and incision if they are to stand any chance of averting an ignominious exit.
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