Manchester United and Manchester City played out an extremely dull 0-0 draw at Old Trafford, arguably the most boring rendition of the fixture in years.
The first half was quite a forgettable half of football, with no goals being scored and not much happening otherwise. Quite evidently the weakest Manchester Derby in a while.
The second half posed little to no more drama, both teams had opportunities to score but it was ultimately never going to be more than a 0-0 with such little happening.
Ruben Amorim will be glad to not pick up another loss after the midweek defeat at Forest, and he has now gone undefeated against Pep Guardiola’s side this season, but he will feel frustrated at more dropped points.
Here are five things UtdDistrict picked up on from the game:
#1: Attacking tweaks needed on left side
United’s wing back and number 10 pairing on the left hand side has primarily been Alejandro Garnacho and Patrick Dorgu recently, the two being United’s ‘natural’ options there.
But right now, the pairing isn’t working as well as Ruben Amorim would perhaps hope. Dorgu seems to be more suited to being a nominal left back rather than a wing back, his best attacking actions coming when arriving from deep.
Alejandro Garnacho has consistently looked much better when playing from the right side than he has from the left, with better decision making and creative output from that side.
The two paired together haven’t worked well, with Garnacho often not playing in the runs of Dorgu, and Dorgu struggling 1v1 since joining.
If Ruben Amorim wants to maximise those two individuals, and United’s attacking unit as a whole, then he might have to consider some changes in how United set up.
#2: Casemiro replaces his replacement
When Manuel Ugarte was bought in the summer, it was expected that he was going to be Casemiro’s replacement in Manchester United’s midfield.
Then when Ugarte’s old manager at Sporting CP took over from Erik ten Hag, it felt even more like that was going to be the reality, and Casemiro was clearly out of favour with Amorim – spending most of his time on the bench.
Yet an injury to Ugarte forced Casemiro back into Ruben Amorim’s plans, and the team has looked much better in and out of possession with Casemiro becoming a fixture in United’s midfield again.
Now in the last couple of games, where both have started together, the Brazilian veteran has remained on the pitch for longer than Ugarte has, showing a complete U-turn in their perception and rank within the squad.
#3: Amad and Kobbie Mainoo will be welcome returns
Two of the big things United lack right now are dynamism with the ball and small-space quality, and with two of the best players at the club in this regard missing it has stuck out a lot.
Kobbie Mainoo is due for a return soon whilst Amad could well feature again towards the end of the season, having initially been ruled out for the season.
Both players would make a big impact in this current United side, providing what feels like a necessary spark in possession in what has been an incredibly stale side, as seen in this game.
#4: Noussair Mazraoui is Mr. Consistent
Are we sure it was only £12 million? Once again, Noussair Mazraoui put in a fantastic shift for United on the right of the back three against Manchester City and at this point the question should be what can’t he do.
Mazraoui has consistently shown up and performed to an excellent standard for United all season. Even in what has been a very messy season, he has not given in and let his levels drop.
Going forward, United need to look to recruit more players and personalities like Mazraoui, quality footballers who consistently perform to a high level no matter the circumstances.
#5: Bruno Fernandes better deeper now?
In this Manchester United team, Bruno Best performances have come when he has played deeper in the double pivot due to his ability to spray the ball around.
In today’s game, where he was Player of the Match, he started higher up the pitch but then dropped deeper just after the 70th minute when Manuel Ugarte was replaced by Mason Mount and his influence was seen with his range of passing and raking diagonal passes.
At this point if you put Bruno Fernandes in goal, you can rely on him to perform for Manchester United. But where his best position lies in this system poses an interesting question, and it is one that will be on the minds of Manchester United’s recruitment team at they look to revamp the squad in the upcoming summer window.
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