Manchester United are back to their winning ways, after a series of matches in which they were unable to get the win. After blewing the big lead they had against Tottenham, it is good news that Erik Ten Hag’s team put in a good performance to beat a strong Aston Villa side 1-0, thanks to the goal from Bruno Fernandes. It was the only goal of the match in which there were plenty of things to see, but most importantly, the Devils managed to get the necessary three points after a tough run of matches in recent weeks.
Bruno Shows Why He Is Crucial
This was another one of those matches where everyone in England can see how crucial Bruno Fernandes is to Man United’s successes. When he is on the pitch, the Devils are a completely different side and it often does not matter in which role he is playing. This time, Bruno was on the right wing, to accomodate other central players, and not only he scored with a nice strike, but his work-rate was at a high level and he managed to create one big chance during the game.
Casemiro Shines Again
Casemiro’s recent performances were not as good as in earlier parts of the season. That was probably due to the Brazilian’s lack of eagerness to be aggressive, after he earned two bans which cost him seven appearances in total. But Casemiro was on Sunday at his best and maybe even the biggest reason for Devils to keep a clean sheet. He put in a man-of-the-match performance, his heatmap further proves he was present left, right and center, he rarely lost the ball and even managed to create a chance up front. With Case in this mood, everything seems a bit simpler for United.
Summer Priority – Strikers, Strikers, Strikers
Well, this does not mean that we expect United to sign three strikers, but the urgency to get a big name in that position is now more and more apparent. Marcus Rashford started up front this time and he did not have a good game. Ten Hag’s options on the bench were the unconvincing Wout Weghorst who did not come on at all, and Anthony Martial, who is not the player United could rely on in such a big manner in the future. This club will have to find a star striker which will get this team certain amount of goals every season and this summer cannot be yet another one in which United fail to address this problem.
Champions League Football Almost Secured
After this win, Manchester United are 11 points ahead of the fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand. It is still not done, there is still lots of football to be played, but Man United are on the verge of securing Champions League football next season. That will be great for this club financially, but also for the pull of playing Champions League football. Who knows, maybe the likes of Harry Kane find that alluring and decide to join United.
Leave a Reply