I along with many others I have had some concerns about Bruno playing deeper in the Manchester United midfield. However, I want to give it time to see if he can adapt to the position. He has played deeper before, and been successful there. Although that was part of a midfield three rather than a two.
That said, today and to be honest against Arsenal last week the signs were not great. His instincts are to try to get forward at every opportunity, and he doesn’t seem to be able to curb them. With Bruno in the pivot, we are far too easy to play through as there are just too many holes in our midfield.
The problem is that he doesn’t have a natural place in Amorim’s setup, but is too good not to be in the team. So he’s crowbarred in and unfortunately we don’t have the quality of players to cover for his weaknesses when played deeper.
Mount, I think has actually been one of our best players across both games and has shown a real ability to adapt to whatever role Amorim needs him for. He is a better option than Bruno in the double pivot.
I also think that we are currently trying to play too many players who want to play in the same areas of the pitch. Mount, Bruno and Cunha all want to play in the inside left channel, while Mbeumo and Amad both want to play in that inside right channel. I think Amad and Mbeumo can work it out the more they play together and build that relationship down the right as both have the ability to go inside or outside. It’s also clear that Mbeumo is still a week or two behind the rest in terms of match fitness.
However, while Mount seems to have the football IQ to adapt his game, Bruno and Cunha were constantly on each others toes, especially once Sesko came on and Cunha was no longer playing as a false 9. Yoro again had a very good game, and is showing why he was rated so highly. We really have managed to scoop a gem there.
However, the main takeaway from the first two games is that we failed to unlock the potential of this team. We might have to drop our best player of the past 5 years, or maybe even sell him as I can’t see how he can sit on the bench.
Bruno coming out of this team feels like it will not only allow us to gain some control of the midfield and stop being so porous through the middle, but it might be key in unlocking the potential of Mbeumo and Cunha. Allowing them to play at their best and take on the creative mantle of this team.
Maybe this summer is our Coutinho moment, and to fully embrace the future we have to finally let go of the past.