Marcel Sabitzer produced a 'midfield masterclass' against Man Utd in 2020, fans are excited

A compilation of Marcel Sabitzer's performance against Manchester United in the Champions League group stages has picked up almost 400,000 views in 11 hours after his move was made official.

The 28-year-old Austria international, who has made 27 appearances for club and country this season, has joined Erik ten Hag's side from Bayern Munich on a loan deal until the end of the 2022/23 campaign.

United needed a short-term replacement for Christian Eriksen, who was ruled out until April or early May after picking up a nasty ankle injury in their FA Cup fourth round win against Reading.

And the club moved quickly to recruit a player who has all the ingredients to become a real success at Old Trafford.

Sabitzer has struggled to get a run in Bayern's first-team since arriving from RB Leipzig in 2021, but the dynamic box-to-box midfielder was prolific during a seven-year spell at the Red Bull Arena.

In total, he notched 40 goals and 27 assists in 177 league appearances for Leipzig, where he established himself as captain ahead of the 2020/21 season.

And in their Champions League campaign that year, he captained the Bundesliga outfit to a historic 3-2 win against United, as goals from Angelino, Amadou Haidara and Justin Kluivert knocked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's out of the competition.

Sabitzer started the game with a wonderful crossfield ball to Angelino's opener and he continued to dominate in midfield areas against the likes of Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay.

You can see a compilation of his impressive performance below.

Here's how fans in the YouTube comments section reacted to Sabitzer's outing against United in December 2020.

One said: "Glad to see he’s really comfortable with both feet. He’s going to be pressured a lot in the first few games so has to earn that respect."

A second wrote: "What a conductor in the midfield. Very few weaknesses. United might even be better with him than Eriksen."

A third commented: "If player profile was a spectrum with Eriksen at one end and Fred at the other - Sabitzer would be the player in the middle. Eriksen has been great but we need more stamina, physicality, speed and defensive ability in some games so we turn to Fred. But then we lose our goal threat, creativity and set pieces. Sabitzer could solve this problem if he gets back to his Leipzig form."

A fourth said: "He is more physical than Eriksen. They have similar vision and his forward passing is okay. He recovers very well and that’s what we needed. He is 28, even with Eriksen coming back, would be good to keep him for midfield competition."

Image credit: YouTube/J9Studio

Months before that performance in the Champions League and former interim manager Ralf Rangnick was full of praise for the Austrian midfielder.

In fact, he described Sabitzer's personality as "remarkable" in the interview with German publication Kicker.

"His development couldn't have been any better," Rangnick said. "He has never liked to lose, which I absolutely believe is a positive thing. But he used to get a little too fired up.

"He has clearly changed for the better and has become a leader. The way he has developed his personality is remarkable. I've only rarely experienced something similar."

Thoughts on the signing of Sabitzer? Is it good business?

Let us know in the comments.