Man United played against Ipswich Town on Sunday and, yesterday, played against Bodø/Glimt for the Europa League.

Is it fair to say that there were 2, maximum 3 training sessions between these matches?

I would say, yes!

But yesterday, United fans started to understand the potential that Ruben brings to the table.

Some stats say that United enjoyed 72% of ball-possession, 787 passes ( 723 completed), expected-goal of almost 3, 5 or 6 clear chances (only 1 successfully completed), and an advantage of 57% on duels.

But, most importantly, there was a glimpse of how Ruben wants Man United to play, to defend, to react when the ball is lost, how much the players have to run, etc.

Naturally, we can ask, was that perfect?

No, definitely not.

We can still observe a good amount of mistakes, I would say almost trials within the experiments that Ruben needs to do to understand what each of the players can offer.

Someone mentioned the other day to me that United is under a pre-season within the competition.

And that is completely right!

The 3 at the back, Mazraoui, de Ligt and Martinez were better, but there’s still a long way ahead.

Mazraoui stills needs to improve the decision-making on the build-up phase. 

During the first half, there was a few times where the opposition was making the pressure in order to lead the ball to Anthony (clearly presenting that side as favorite area for pressing) and he was falling for that many times, leaving the Brazilian to get a lot of pressure and less to none options to play.

Matthijs de Ligt, needs serious improvements in his defensive positioning, from maintaining the defensive line, body positioning when in possession (and probably a few more) but has 2 big advantages in this system: the aerial duels when defending and the time with the ball, allowing him to make better decisions in the short and long distances.

Martinez was an expected element of added quality, very strong on the duels, aggressive and with a good impact on the decision making when attacking. 

The mistakes that Mazraoui did on the right side, didn’t happen on the left side. 

And there are no coincidences.

However, what we will see in this United team’s growth once all gets more automated, is that for the defenders, due to the pressing way that Amorim wants the team to execute, there’s an element of prediction of what will happen next. 

In an attempt to rush the opposite team to a faster decision (and hopefully a less quality one), normally the central defenders can expect either an interior pass to one of the central players (ie. In the defenders case, either to the striker or one of the wingers traveling to interior positions), an aerial long-ball to the striker (where de Ligt gets a clear chance to show his attributes because he can control the ball and the player positioning), or a long ball in the space behind the defensive line (just like the 2nd goal conceded).

It’s basic, if we put this way, but it comes down to the individual qualities of the players, the duels.

And this 50/50 is a challenge that not all players are ready to cope.

This kind of patterns happen throughout the field, naturally, and will become easier with the matches (and training sessions) going.

Naturally, if the 1st pressure is not succeeded and the other team can play from the back, then this behaviors need to be adjusted, probably taking out the space behind the defensive line. 

However, a good percentage of the game will be in this moments/decisions.

Because it’s provoked to lead this way.

The first pressure was much better, with Højlund demonstrating the importance of what I spoke before here after the last match – an effective pressure on the defensive line and GK, but also dropping to the opposite Defensive Midfielder if the midfield is out positioned and in numerical inferiority, depending on the game moment.
Well done!

Similarly, we have witnessed a new Anthony under the new boss!
Active, wanting to be a protagonist and to show his capabilities, he was a constant troublemaker to the opposition. 

Ugarte was, as we say in Portugal, feeling like a fish in the water. 

Free, integrated, swimming calmly and controlling the environment perfectly.

On the attacking players, although I don’t think Garnacho will ever going to be the best in the World, he is a good player with good potential. 

He’s not extremely fast, talented or with incredible deliver.

But he can shake things, leave opposition alert and, more importantly, score goals.

Nowadays, he lacks on the decision-making and needs to improve his decisions in the last third.

But he seems someone that understands the process and will work regardless.

The left side is the most serious concern, with neither Malacia (although coming from a long injury recovery process) or Dalot (out of his original position and presenting limited resources on the passes) being valid options for a team that wants to be back to the top.

However, the most remarkable thing about Ruben is that after only a week and a few training sessions everyone understood the message.

He arrives with power, a playing idea and a clear objective in his mind – WIN.

And players have no more excuses, they also know that.

Did you noticed how the players came from the bench?
Was that the same Rashford from a few days before?

For sure it wasn’t.

Why?

Because this is Ruben:
“You fight for me and I will not let you down, never. You don’t fight, you’re out.”

And maybe now the players know that he has this power.

Not only from the board (ie. Ten Hag ashamed Ronaldo and sent him to Saudi Arabia) but also from the fans and supporters.

They know Ruben is different.

They know he’s one of them, understanding the style required to play for Manchester United and wanting to win as bad as they want.

Get ready, red devils!
The journey is now starting!!