There were some interesting things spotted after Manchester United uploaded a video of Ruben Amorim’s first training session this pre-season.
Manchester United players reported back to Carrington on Monday as pre-season preparations got underway ahead of a pivotal campaign under Ruben Amorim.
Following a summer break, Amorim welcomed the majority of his squad back to the training ground to kick off their return to action.
New arrivals Matheus Cunha and Diego Leon were among those present as the squad began the day with physical testing in the gym.
The players then moved out onto the pitch for their first full training session of the season, with United uploading a short video of the session with noteworthy observations emerging.
Cunha showing his talents
All eyes were on Cunha during this opening session and the Brazilian shown his biggest asset during the opening seconds of this training video.
Despite pressure from Kobbie Mainoo and Matthijs de Ligt, the club’s new no.10 drove through the centre of the training pitch before laying the ball off to Mason Mount to finish.
United have been lacking in ball carriers in recent years, and particularly ones who can cut through the heart of an opposition team. Cunha is bringing those exact skills to the table.
Mantato pushing for first-team involvement
There was another clip from the training video which fans enjoyed, as Joshua Zirkzee’s spontaneous flicked effort found the back of the net.
Keen observers would have noticed that it was 17-year-old talent Bendito Mantato who played the cross into the Dutchman.
Mantato has impressed Amorim behind the scenes and might have felt unlucky to not get a first-team debut towards the end of last season, but he looks to still be on the right track and many think he would be a solid option at wingback for the Reds.
Amorim’s clear cutback instruction
Amorim has not been able to have much time on the training pitch to focus on the tactical approach at United since arriving in November last year.
This pre-season could be very important for the head coach and one thing was abundantly clear from the training video – he wants the team to generate more cutback opportunities in the box.
Despite the video being less than two minutes, and less than half of that being game-based action, there were several examples where the idea was to get the ball wide before cutting in back to a player coming into the danger area.
Fans will remember how often United were stung by this type of goal under Erik ten Hag and it is something Amorim seems to want to bring into United’s own game more often.
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