STRETFORD END’S SUBTLE MESSAGE
WHEN Donny van de Beek jogged down the touchline towards the tunnel early in the second half he’d have been surprised to see the Stretford End rise almost as one to acclaim a player who hasn’t started a meaningful Premier League game in 11 months.
Van de Beek has seen five minutes of action in the Premier League this season and the lack of trust in him to do a job for United is one of the baffling elements of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign.
This is a player Real Madrid wanted to sign before the Reds took advantage of their financial difficulties, a midfield who shone for Ajax on the way to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019.
As he warmed up while the players in front of him toiled against City, the Stretford End sang his name over and over again.
The majority of United’s match-going fans are never going to turn against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but this was one way of making their feelings clear.
In a way it worked. Van de Beek was given the last 15 minutes against City, but the refusal to use him despite the obvious need for a different approach in midfield has been baffling.
MASTERS OF THE BALL
ONE of the most notable aspects of City’s total domination at Old Trafford was how comfortable they looked on the ball from one to 11 and how uncertain in possession United looked.
Every member of the City team is confident in possession but they also have the benefit of movement and options from their team-mates. When United had their ball too many players were either static or making their movement too obvious.
It also doesn’t help that there are players in this team who simply don’t have that confidence on the ball. Aaron Wan-Bissaka fits into that category down the right, as does Fred in midfield.
If United move on from Solskjaer and to a coach who values possession and control of the ball, then there will be major issues to fix, given the performance in possession yesterday.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH BRUNO?
THE game wasn’t even a quarter old when Bruno Fernandes chronically under-hit a pass out to Luke Shaw and then spent the next throw-in explaining to Shaw what he wanted him to do. Fernandes is undoubtedly one of United’s most important players and his creativity has gone up another level in recent weeks, but too often that’s coming despite his performances.
Later in the first half he attempted a raking crossfield pass to Wan-Bissaka that was simply never on. It was such an ambitious, unexpected ball, that Wan-Bissaka wasn’t even looking.
Fernandes looks unhappy at the way United are performing this season and while his assist numbers remain high and his contribution is still key, there are elements of his own game that have to sharpen up.