Manchester United will walk away from Manchester City defeat with plenty of credit in the bank after an encouraging display.
There were plenty of positives in the defeat, as United went toe-to-toe with Pep Guardiola’s men, and many good performances promise hope for the season.
Captain Bruno Fernandes picked up where he left off at the end of last season by appearing in an unfamiliar false nine role and still managing to make quite an impact.
He had no goals or assists that will pop up on the raw stats board, but his effort off the ball and adventurousness on it gave City plenty of headaches.
Rio Ferdinand believed regardless of his position, there’s an area of the pitch he excels in and shouldn’t move from there.
Rio Ferdinand hails ‘majestic’ Bruno Fernandes
In the absence of a natural striker, Erik ten Hag repeated the system that got him the FA Cup win last season vs the same opponents.
Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes interchanged positions at the tip of the attack, with Marcus Rashford and Amad providing width in a fluid strikerless system.
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Rio Ferdinand hailed Fernandes’ performance in an unfamiliar role of a false nine, saying he excelled because the area of the pitch he was stationed in is where he is at his best.
He said that Fernandes does the most damage to the opposition when he is positioned higher up the pitch, regardless of role, and when United return to a system with a natural striker, that shouldn’t change.
He said on his podcast Rio Reacts: “One thing I would say I want to get with Bruno this season, he was playing in the false nine there today which is great. When Hojlund comes back, I just want to see Bruno higher in the positions to just hurt teams.
“When he’s in the final third, there’s no other player in that team that I want on the ball for delivery into other players or for shooting. He is majestic in those positions.”
Breaking down Fernandes vs City
Fernandes started off slowly vs City, as did the rest of the team as Guardiola’s men put the squeeze on. However, as United grew into the game, courtesy of Amad’s efforts, Fernandes came alive.
Playing higher up the pitch but not in a set position, his game intelligence and positional awareness shined as he took up dangerous positions.
He tested City’s defensive shape a few times by taking venomous shots from near the edge of the box, while also popping up between the lines to unsettle the defence.
The false-nine role also gave him the freedom to drop deep as Mount ran past him to make up the numbers. Instead of being lumbered with being the lynchpin of the buildup, however, he dropped deep to make things happen this time.
A couple of passes floated over the top to runners behind the last line of defence gave City plenty of trouble.
Fernandes was at his all-action best due to the freedom afforded to him. His sometimes gung-ho style of play takes away from his understanding of the game, which is second to none. Playing higher up the pitch with the freedom to move as he likes unleashes the best version of Fernandes- piercing in attack and diligent in defence.
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