Gary Lineker noticed two positives from one Manchester United star against Manchester City despite the disappointing result.
Manchester United suffered their third league defeat of the season as Manchester City cruised to a 3-0 derby win at the Etihad.
Ruben Amorim handed Benjamin Šeško his first start, but Pep Guardiola’s men struck first when Phil Foden finished midway through the opening half. United pushed forward before the interval yet failed to find a breakthrough.
After the restart, City took full control. Erling Haaland doubled the lead with a clinical strike and soon added another to put the result beyond doubt.
Bryan Mbeumo and Casemiro had opportunities to hit back, but neither capitalised. In relentless Manchester rain, City managed the closing stages with ease, sealing a dominant derby victory.
Lineker noticed two Šeško positives
Šeško was eventually substituted in this encounter after a difficult game upfront, with little service to him in behind the City backline.
Before the game, Amorim spoke about how he wanted his team to feed the Slovenian in behind City’s defence but that ball only came once and Gianluigi Donnarumma saved well against the United striker.
Gary Lineker has explained how he watched Šeško closely during the game and while he was ‘absolutely starved’ of service, the pundit noticed two positives from the forward.
“He was absolutely starved of any real service. He went through once where he broke the offside trap and the ‘keeper blocked his shot,” Lineker said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“But he does look quick for a big guy and I watched him specifically for a lot of the game and his movement; he’s making darting runs.
“But the ball [wasn’t coming], I felt for him a little bit. It’s tough when you’re not getting any service.”
Šeško can make an impact
The United striker position has been labelled as a graveyard for several years now. Whoever plays in the position has struggled to impact games regularly.
Amorim entered the game against City with two defenders at wingback and Manuel Ugarte playing in midfield. He was not planning on taking the game to Guardiola’s men.
That makes it difficult for someone like Šeško to impact the game, but Lineker is right that he seems to be making smart and decisive runs in attack.
With the likes of Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha alongside him, it feels like he will be getting chances eventually. But United need to try and dominate games, while also playing to his strengths.
Mbeumo knows that he needs to try and get crosses in for the 22-year-old, and others must also realise that he can be dangerous in those areas.
It is still early days for Šeško, and even though the team is struggling, he looks like he can make an impact if they can start creating for him.
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