Thing is he could have used these same 11 players, but with Rio and Flo on the wings, Dom in the midfield and Frimpong at right back. I would have preferred watching that
On the assumption that the decision hasn't already been taken, I think he needs to end the season with the sort of run that would make us title challengers next season eg 2.5+ points per game. Cups are a bonus.
United should finish 3rd. But they don't have the squad for CL football next season, so could easily regress in the league again next season (particularly if other teams return to normal level)
Might be letter of the law for the first to be disallowed, but its far from the sort of goal that the rule (and VAR) was introduced to stop. Modern football is rubbish