Manchester United began their preseason adventure in the US with a victory over West Ham to give Ruben Amorim the indication of encouragement before the season
Manchester United did something they aren’t very good at, scoring twice with West Ham to win at MetLife on Sunday morning.
United traveled from Chicago to New Jersey and took on the hammer not two weeks ago, but at the same venue where Chelsea shook the Club World Cup. And it was their captain whom they scored once again and relied on by Bruno Fernandez.
Initially, they came from the spot due to a foul of the messy Alphonse areola catch. The second came right after the interval after another mistake from the hammer keeper. Kobbie Mainoo has been capitalized to tee up the Fernandes, who produced a sublime finish.
Jarrod grabbed one with the hourly mark and stopped Altay Bayinder another late chance as United scored a rare but necessary victory.
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Amorim’s team
Starting XI: Altay Bayindir, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Ayden Heaven, Amad, Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte, Patrick Dorgu, Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha, Rasmus Hojlund.
And it stayed that way until 65 minutes. The fact that this team lasted more than an hour shows where Amorim’s head is with his favorite player. Add to the context Bryan Mbeumo was not fully prepared, Noussair Mazraoui had a knock and Joshua Zirkzee was not on the team. He is a luxury he didn’t get last year.
United looked sharp and carried zip and energy to their play, which they hadn’t seen for a while. The most enjoyable thing for Amorim is definitely positive. It’s a long way to go, but the press has also improved. The defense helped midfield and midfield assist in the attack. Notable improvements.
The need for additional details is still clear, but perhaps fans could see a little more about what Amorim wants to do.
Back 3
Depending on where Amorim watches the show with Mazrawi, United’s Yoro, Deligut and the three backs of heaven are as strong as it comes. The back three may start against Arsenal within three weeks.
Deligto played in the anchor role on his back, wiped out a terrible chance and loose ball. And beside Dutchman, he had leaning to the right and heaven to the left. Although not perfect, the three performances were solid. If it’s a bit messy at times, it did the job on the main.
Amorim’s worries are that this goes against the rather vibrant West Ham attack. The outlook for these three facing Viktor Gyoker, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are a bit unsettled.
It is clear that the talent for life is still fresh. He needs more time. Heaven is even younger, and Bowen’s goal is a prime example of how much he should learn to shut down his attackers in hopes.
Is there a possibility for the back 3? yes. Is that a top four defense? no. And it’s far from there.
What to do with Hojlund
It is worth remembering that Hojlund is only 22 years old. And despite his form last season, there is never a united side to him that he should have relied on as their expelled scorer. Nonetheless, it was either him or Joshua Jillcoosie. Zirkzee is not a striker. He was a fake nine or ten people, and sometimes United fans licked his lips with his quick feet and link-up play.
That leaves Hozilund. After just two minutes he showed his three best attributes, speed, strength and mentality. After Cunha scored the ball at the edge of the box, Hojlund found himself in Break One V One along with West Ham defender Max Kilman. Hozilund throbbed him and sprinted past him, finding an opportunity for the finish.
That’s where his weakest attributes came in – finished. The shot was violent, standing upright and broke. It may be good that he was carved out for himself, but he could not apply the finishing finish.
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Just a moment later he found himself holding the ball at the feet of the penalty area. This resulted in a balloon shot on top of the bar. It’s not always a lovely care finish for Hozilund, but always a snatch shot or power strike. There is no doubt about his determination to chase all the balls, but that’s not enough.
Sometimes last season, Dane was irritated by Alejandro Garnacho’s selfishness. However, we can expect more services this time at Bryan Mbeumo and Cunha. However, Amorim must quickly decide whether to gamble about two new signatures via Zilkie or his goals from Hit or Miss Hoyland.
Fernandez’s position
Amorim never fully understands where he wants to play Fernandez. Partly, it’s because he’s so good that the United boss probably wants him to play him in five positions.
However, Amorim made a mistake by dropping Fernandez deep in the Europa League final. Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro had established semi-solid partnerships through previous European games. The captain, who replaces Ugarte, produced not only a hole in the attack, but also an inability to stop the Spurs running through the middle.
Casemiro’s age and Ugarte’s feet leave much to be desired, which is why United are screaming for their defensive midfielders. It is therefore interesting that Fernandez started out in one of the 10th positions against West Ham. He contributed to the transition of several offensives and linked a little better than he went with Kuna and Hozilund.
His cross ultimately led to the failure of Oriola, where a penalty was born, and of course it was he who hit the right bump from the penalty spot. As always, he had no problems bossing his teammates, but he felt he would take command a little more when he came from an offensive position.
And he was moving further, and he was in a position to subtly curl Areola in the past for United’s second round.
Mainoo’s dirty work and Ugarte’s flash
And Fernandez was moving further, so Cobby Minee was affiliated with Ugarte in the middle. Sometimes the general vulnerability of teams running through pairs was shown, but there were still some promises, like when Thomas Sousek had too much room to slot at Bowen.
Before the kickoff, Amorim declared that he had “big plans” for Mineau, praising his talent. And it was on this pitch two years ago that Mineu’s performance against Arsenal in the preseason caught his eye. It’s fitting that he cleansed the ball again.
His silky footwork and confidence in the ball drew “Oohs” and “Aahs” from the crowd. But perhaps what Amorim is most pleased was his stubbornness to win the ball. Mainoo competed against Adeola’s poor Goalkick to intercept the ball in the second half. He quickly gave it to Fernandez, who produced a gorgeous finish.
His partner Ugarte flattered him to deceive last season, but showed aspects of his play that many have never seen before. The Uruguirons quickly grabbed the ball after Minee hit the wall of the Clarett. He advanced one player to Nutmeg before eating an Amado who properly slotted the chance. Unfortunately, it was offside for the pair.
As Bowen’s goals showed, it wasn’t solid, but it was better than last season.
