Brian Mbemo made his Manchester United debut against Everton in Atlanta. It was clear he needed to play in a very different style than he played at Brentford.
Burst on the right side, cut into the left foot, and finish.
It has become something like a Brentford Brian Mbeumo trademark, but if the first Cameroonian outing in a Manchester United shirt is something to go by then, we will see that its signature is much less.
In this evidence, as Mbeumo performed in his attacks with Bruno Fernandez and Mateuscuña against Everton in Atlanta, he is tasked with making an impact not only on the bottom right, but also on the entire frontline, which was a constant threat and presence throughout the 242 Brentford appearances.
Liquidity is the password for this particular United attack. Mbeumo takes up all three frontline positions over the first 30 minutes, resulting in Fernandez and Cunha doing the same thing.
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The width given by Wing-Backs Amad and Diogo Dalot, Mbeumo and Cunha required attention to hygiene from Deep to goal.
Link-up plays between the trio were promised in the opening exchange, but Fernandez had already scored from the penalty spots – what Mbeumo often does for Brentford – before the debutant began to show his authority in the game.
In particular, Mbeumo was on a free kick for United, but after poor delivery to the box for the first time, he brought a save from something close to goal from Jordan Pickford. Shortly afterwards, Mbeumo responded first when Pickford pushed out a shot of Fernandez, but Vitaliy Mykolenko impressively blocked.
Mbeumo discovers that his close control lost him several times in the second half of the first half. It is an area where he has to improve the role he is expected to play.
As if to emphasize the flexibility on his part, Amorim retracted Mbeumo at halftime, replacing him with Patrick Dorgu, further advancing Amado into a constantly changing attack.
The change was to protect Mbeumo’s feet on his first outing in the preseason as he got a glimpse of the new arrival expected of him at his new club.
He’ll have to do more than his Brentford tricks, and although he can certainly do that, it may take a little time to speed up in his new environment.
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