90% passing, 100% long balls, 100% ground duels won: United star finding his groove in new position under Carrick

Manchester United’s first game of pre-season may have ended in a 0-1 defeat to Wrexham on Saturday, but there were plenty of interesting changes that caught the eye. Patrick Dorgu continued to play as a winger down the left rather than at full-back. With the future of Marcus Rashford still to be decided, it looks like the Dane will earn plenty of minutes in his new attacking role. The most surprising tweak involved Leny Yoro playing as a right-back. With Noussair Mazraoui linked with a move to AC Milan, the Frenchman might just be Diogo Dalot’s backup in certain games if needed. Michael Carrick also continued a trend he started at the end of the previous campaign: playing Mason Mount in a deeper role, alongside the defensive midfielder in a double pivot. Mason Mount has a new role It was Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo last season, and now, the former Chelsea ace lined up alongside new signing Andrey Santos. Both dovetailed nicely, and there was good interplay between the duo at times. The head coach will be happy with what he saw from his No.7. StatValue Goals0 Assists0 Key passes0 Crosses (accurate)1 (0) Accurate passes35/39 (90%) Passes in opposition half (accurate)17/20 (85%) Passes in own half (accurate)18/19 (95%) Long balls (accurate)2/2 (100%) Total shots0 Shots on target0 Shots blocked0 Touches47 Unsuccessful touches1 Dribbles (successful)0 (0) Possession lost6 Total carrying distance47.2 m Carries7 Total progression19.8 m Defensive contributions2 Tackles (won)1 (0) Interceptions1 Clearances0 Blocked shots0 Recoveries2 Ground duels (won)1 (1) Dribbled past0 match stats via Sofascore In 45 minutes, the Englishman recorded a passing accuracy of 90 per cent, with 35 of his 39 passes finding their intended target. He had 47 touches of the ball and carried the ball forward on seven occasions. Both of his long-ball attempts also found their mark, while he did not succeed with his one crossing attempt. Carrick will be pleased with Mason Mount Off the ball, the 27-year-old was his usual energetic self, intercepting a through ball once, while recovering the ball back on two occasions. He won all his ground duels but did not emerge victorious from his only tackle of the game (all stats from sofascore). The 20-time English league champions kept the ball well enough, but there was not much attacking impetus in either half. Tougher challenges lie in wait for Mason Mount, and it will be intriguing to see how he fares then. His performances in pre-season will dictate how many minutes he will earn once the real action starts as he is set to compete with Mainoo, Santos, and Youri Tielemans for a place in the starting XI. Feature image George Wood via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25