With Manchester United set to face Nottingham Forest in the coming days, Rúben Amorim has been working on unlocking his side’s full potential on the training pitch.
Manchester United are in excellent form as Rúben Amorim readies his side for a Premier League clash away to Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.
Amorim’s men have picked up three straight victories, seeing off Sunderland 2-0, edging Liverpool 2-1, and putting on a dominant display in a 4-2 win over Brighton at Old Trafford last weekend.
Forest, meanwhile, continue to endure an inconsistent season. The Tricky Trees are already on their third manager of the campaign, with Sean Dyche now at the helm.
United’s recent run has lifted them to sixth in the Premier League table, overtaking Liverpool in the process. Forest sit 18th with just five points from nine matches, setting the stage for what promises to be a fiery contest at The City Ground.
While those who played on Saturday evening were recovering elsewhere at Carington, some of United’s other players were back on the training pitch ahead of the fixture against Forest, and United released footage of the session.
Amorim keeping the ball on the floor
In the last few games, United have adopted a fairly route-one style of football, with goalkeeper Senne Lammens often tasked with finding the front three with long balls over the top of the opponent.
However, in the latest training video, it was clear that those on the field had been tasked with keeping the ball on the ground for as long as possible, with barely any passes lifting off the grass.
While the route-one style has been used effectively on the pitch throughout October, there is little doubt that Amorim will want his side to be able to switch between a safety-first approach and a more possession-based style depending on the game state.
United working on crosses into the area
United’s striker, Benjamin Šeško, has scored twice and assisted once in his last three starts, but none of these goal contributions have come in the air.
Although Šeško’s aerial abilities have been “brilliant” at times this season, United have not utilised them enough to effect. With this in mind, it was good to see many of the senior players working on putting crosses into the box from the byline.
Šeško did not take part in the session after playing the 82 minutes against Brighton, but is expected to rejoin the training sessions along with other starting XI players on Tuesday.
With some, such as Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu and Mason Mount, having prepared by working on their crosses during Monday’s training session, it will undoubtedly be a point of focus for Amorim during the next week.
Fernandes and Wilcox watch on
As mentioned above, many of those who started and played significant minutes against Brighton were not involved in training, but that did not stop a crowd from gathering.
Bruno Fernandes, club captain, is known to care deeply about everything that goes on at United and was spotted watching the session alongside Diogo Dalot in a golf buggy and was also seen chatting with Amorim, possibly about the training session itself.
United’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, was also seen on the sidelines, watching some of the younger players who had been called up to the training squad to fill out the numbers.
In December, United are due to play six Premier League fixtures as the Christmas schedule dawns on England, and some of these youngsters may well be used.
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