Manchester United returned from the international break today with a 3-0 defeat to fierce rivals Manchester City, with Phil Foden opening the scoring before Erling Haaland scored twice to take the game away from the Red Devils.
The result is disappointing for everyone associated with the club and comes in stark contrast to the victory United picked up at the Etihad Stadium last season.
However, even with the result, there were glimpses of how Ruben Amorim’s side could play, with City’s new signing, Gianluigi Donnarumma being called into action several times.
Now, we take a look at five key takeaways from the game, and what needs to happen next.
1. Mistakes are costly for Manchester United, again
For Manchester City’s first goal, there are arguably defensive errors that were responsible, which unfortunately fall on our captain, Bruno Fernandes losing Phil Foden in the box, who he arguably should have followed.
Arguably, if Foden had been followed, the goal could have been prevented, but, instead, City went 1-0 up and the momentum and morale instantly shifted.
For City’s third goal, United’s defence made a costly mistake, allowing Bernardo Silva to play a through ball to Erling Haaland, who successfully finished the chance.
Once again it just shows that United’s mistakes, even if few are being made, are routinely being capitalised on and are consistently their downfall.
2. Senne Lammens to be eased into life with Manchester United
Today we also saw Altay Bayindir start instead of new signing, Senne Lammens, who officially signed for the Red Devils in the closing stages of the transfer window.
The choice to do this could be due to a number of reasons. Firstly, he only joined the club on deadline day and, combined with an international break, the Belgian has not had much time to settle in.
Secondly could well be the intensity of the game. With the match being a Manchester derby, the choice to go with a more experienced Premier League option in Altay Bayindir was arguably smart, even if the match ended in defeat for the Red Devils.
However, this choice ultimately shows us Amorim’s intention to ease Lammens into action, undoubtedly bringing him int othe squad once he’s more settled, as we’ve seen with Benjamin Sesko.
3. Lack of chemistry in the front three
At times in today’s fixture, there were glimpses of what Manchester United could put together on the attack, however fleeting..
However, these were individual moments with team moves limited throughout the game, such as Mbeumo’s powerful strike at 2-0 which forced Donnarumma into a superb one-handed save.
A large amount of this can be said to be down to the lack of chemistry that was present between today’s front three of Amad, Sesko and Mbeumo.
This is arguably understandable, seen as Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount were both out injured, with Amorim so far favouring an attacking trio of Cunha, Mount and Mbeumo.
As such, it’s no surprise that the trio were strugglign to link together today, especially with Mbeumo and Sesko only arriving at Carrington this summer.
However, with return dates unknown for Cunha and Mount, the trio are looking set to work together more often so need to click sooner rather than later.
4. Luke Shaw’s consistent appearance and a need for change
Luke Shaw has featured in each of Manchester United’s opening four Premier League games with Ruben Amorim seeming determined to include him in his core back three over players like Noussair Mazraoui and Harry Maguire, who arguably shone last season.
So far Maguire has only started in the embarrasing Carabao Cup loss to Grimsby Town, with him yet to be used alongside de Ligt properly this season, which was a partnership that seemd to show potential last season.
Shaw however, after a year and a half out of action injured, only returned toward the end of last season and was used sparingly, now becoming a core memebr of defence.
Across these four games so far, the Englishman has received an average FotMob rating of 6.4 which is below that of his fellow defenders in the back three.
With all this in mind, it’s odd that Amorim is continuing to back Shaw despite the success that was expereinced with the likes of Maguire and Mazraoui starting ahead of him.
5. Ruben Amorim’s stubborness with his system
During the game, Ruben Amorim set-up once again in a 3-4-3 formation with Benjamin Sesko higher than Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo in attacking situations, with the formation turning into a 5-2-3 during defensive situations.
However, this approach has been used throughout Amorim’s time at Old Trafford, with the Portuguese manager having lost more games than he’s won.
As such, Amorim needs to consider the effect of being so rigid around his system, as if he doesn’t show some flexibility in it, and it doesn’t bring in results soon, his job could well be at risk.
