Manchester United beat Fiorentina 5-4 via a penalty shoot-out after their pre-season game ended 1-1 in regulation time at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Ruben Amorim sent a brutal message with his selection calls against the Serie A side, with both Rasmus Hojlund and Manuel Ugarte finding themselves on the bench.
The Uruguayan struggled against Everton and West Ham, and only came on for seven minutes. The Portuguese tactician clearly wants an upgrade, which explains the links with Carlos Baleba.
Hojlund did not even step foot onto the pitch, and following Benjamin Sesko’s arrival, he is likely to depart with AC Milan interested.
Mbeumo wicked crossing
The head coach preferred a fluid front three with Mason Mount, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha all occupying the No.9 position at different intervals.
In fact, United’s most dangerous attacking outlet was the Cameroonian, whose wicked deliveries caused Fiorentina all sorts of problems.
He attempted four crosses, and all of them found their mark, with David de Gea in inspired form to thwart the hosts time and time again.
4 key passes
The 26-year-old produced four key passes, and completed 86 per cent of his passes while touching the ball 44 times.
The ex-Brentford star was also solid when it came to shielding the ball under pressure, winning two free-kicks (all stats via sofascore).
It must be remembered that the Cameroon international has only had two weeks to train, and more minutes in the tank will help him ahead of the season opener against Arsenal next weekend.
His wicked crosses will be a huge asset for the 20-time English league champions, especially after Sesko’s addition.
The Slovenian is a monster aerially, and expect plenty of balls into the box this term as compared to recent seasons.
Feature image Matt McNulty via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
