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Manchester United’s recent resurgence under interim head coach Michael Carrick has understandably lifted the mood around the club.
Victories over Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham have been gained with a mix of style and substance, qualities which were sorely lacking when Ruben Amorim was in charge. It’s not just the formation – the short-term interim coach, Darren Fletcher, had changed the formation as well with little to show for it – it’s a clear indication of partnerships and moving key players into their best positions on the pitch.
There are three key elements that we’ve seen BestBettingBonuses.co.uk talk about this week that have triggered the resurgence, starting with an unlikely defensive pairing.
Martinez & Maguire keep things simple
It is difficult to argue with the notion that Amorim tried to be too clever by sticking rigidly to a 3-4-2-1 formation that did not suit the players at his disposal.
However, Lisandro Martinez’s return to fitness handed Carrick the opportunity to go back to basics by implementing a traditional back-four system. The Argentine has been a breath of fresh air alongside Harry Maguire, bringing some old-school defending to a backline that had previously looked shaky.
While United have still conceded four goals with Martinez and Maguire in the team, they undoubtedly look more stable defensively.
Aerial battles have never been Martinez’s strongest attribute, but Maguire’s presence in the team allows him to focus on his other talents.
The 28-year-old has tackled fearlessly and been progressive carrying the ball forward, which has helped United’s midfield operate more effectively.
His outstanding 94 percent passing accuracy in the dramatic 3-2 victory over Fulham is the type of statistic Amorim would have dreamt about during his time in charge.
Maguire has reminded everyone of his aerial dominance, winning ten of his 12 duels across the past three games. He has made defending look simple. Their partnership may not be long-term, but as the chart below from DataMB shows, the two complement each other perfectly and have allowed United to turn around that dreading feeling of being one mistake away from conceding.
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Fernandes highlights the folly in Amorim’s methods
Amorim’s stubbornness resulted in United looking disjointed across the pitch. That point was hammered home by a series of unbalanced displays in midfield. Bruno Fernandes suffered more than most after being deployed in a deeper role. Carrick has been rewarded after restoring the United captain to his favoured position. Fernandes has tallied 103 goals and 99 assists in 313 appearances for the club. Those numbers alone tell you where he should be playing.
The Portuguese star has weighed in with four assists under Carrick to demonstrate where is most effective. He has also demonstrated that he can play in the same team as Kobbie Mainoo.
With Casemiro showing that there is still life in his ageing legs, the Red Devils suddenly have a balanced midfield which is fit for purpose.
While each of the trio have played their part in United’s recent upsurge, Fernandes has been the standout performer.
He is currently on course to beat David Beckham’s record for the most assists in a Premier League season by a United player, which has stood for 26 years (15 in 1999/00). If he maintains his current performance levels, he could beat Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry’s joint record for the most assists in a Premier League season (20).
Achieving that feat would cement the belief that United cannot afford to lose Fernandes this summer, no matter how much Saudi Por League clubs want him.
Sesko is finally showing signs of life
United were strongly linked with Viktor Gyokeres last summer, but he made it clear that he wanted to join Arsenal from Sporting CP.
This forced United to head down a different route which ultimately led them to Benjamin Sesko. Much like his Arsenal counterpart, the former RB Leipzig star did not hit the ground running.
However, Sesko has started to show signs of life, scoring four goals in six matches since the turn of the year. Intriguingly, Gyokeres has bagged the same tally in the same number of games.
Sesko is now averaging 0.43 goals per 90 minutes, which is an uptick from where he was earlier in the season. There is clearly more improvement to come from him.
His cool finish against Fulham last weekend bore all the hallmarks of a player who is capable of scoring plenty of goals in the Premier League.
While he may never be as prolific as Manchester City’s Erling Braut Haaland, it is not unreasonable to think he could hit the 20-goals per season mark for United in the future.
Sesko has a 40.11 percent success rate in duels and 50.5% for aerial battles, which suggests he is getting to grips with the unique demands presented by the Premier League.
The 22-year-old will benefit from his tough debut season in English football and could be the latest big-money buy to help a club win major silverware.
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