Manchester United’s unbeaten pre-season came to a close with a penalty shootout win over Fiorentina at Old Trafford.
Normal time ended with the score at 1-1, with United giving away a shoddy set-piece goal before equalising with one of their own as David de Gea returned to the Theatre of Dreams with his new employers. The Red Devils then wrapped things up in clinical fashion in the shootout, which ended 5-4.
Here are three things we learned from the game:
Baleba can’t come soon enough
After getting the frontline sorted out, United need to do something about their midfield as Ruben Amorim once again tried and largely failed with a partnership of Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro.
As a duo they reiterated that they are not dynamic enough; Casemiro’s advancing years continue to catch up with him and Fernandes is wildly talented but not equipped to be constantly bailing the Brazilian out. That they looked uncomfortable in a pre-season friendly does not bode well for the upcoming Premier League season.
United are strongly linked with Brighton and Hove Albion’s box-to-box machine Carlos Baleba – he, or someone like him, cannot come soon enough.
Mount mounts a challenge
Despite a decent end to last season, what with the blockbuster arrivals of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha in the number 10 roles Mason Mount was at risk of becoming a forgotten figure.
Amorim has long been a fan of the Englishman, whose time at Old Trafford has been dogged by injuries and patchy form, and he started today’s match at centre-forward. The 26-year-old caught the eye mostly through his relentless pressing and constant running, forcing errors and spearheading an aggressive off-the-ball approach which is exactly the game Amorim wants to be playing.
Beyond his tireless chasing, Mount threaded some nice passes and linked play well to throw his hat into the ring for a start against Arsenal next weekend, although it’s hard to see him retaining the speculative false 9 role once new signing Benjamin Sesko gets up to speed.
Even starboys get the blues
Amad Diallo was a standout performer for United during a dismal campaign last season, and frequently found himself carrying the side during some of its darkest moments. The ebullient number 16 became a reliable source of creativity, able to make things happen where his teammates hit brick walls.
Today was a reminder that Amad is human after all, with the Ivorian having a frustrating time of it against Fiorentina. Playing at right wing-back, where he is expected to feature most heavily this season, his attacking runs were less penetrating than we saw last season and his defensive contributions mostly involved drawing a foul from the attacker in his own half.
He dinked in a cheeky Panenka in the penalty shootout to remind us that he is still very much the consummate entertainer, but United must move on from relying on him to bail them out.
Featured image Matt McNulty via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
