Manchester United comfortably eased past high-flying Sunderland 2-0 in their Premier League game at Old Trafford on Saturday.
This was United’s third successive win at home, and the first time the team has kept a clean sheet this season. The three points will have eased some of the pressure on Ruben Amorim.
There were a lot of positives to take from the game, including Benjamin Sesko’s first goal at the Theatre of Dreams and Senne Lammens’ impressive debut.
INEOS will be delighted that their summer transfer approach is paying dividends. The Red Devils opted to sign Premier League-proven stars to fix an ailing side, and in came Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo for big money.
Sesko, Lammens prove their worth
Both have looked the part, but there were doubts regarding Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens, given they were relatively inexperienced at the top level and the fact that they came into a dysfunctional and struggling United team.
The 20-time English league champions had the option of signing experienced Premier League stars in Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez, but INEOS were adamant that they wanted to sign young stars with potential.
Their last No.9 acquisition did not work out, but against the Black Cats, the Slovenian displayed all the characteristics of a true striker.
He held up the ball really well, while laying off passes to the wide players. The ex-RB Leipzig ace also impressed when dropping deep to link-up play and his poacher instinct was on full display during the goal.
He was at the right place at the right time from a long throw, and after that goal, his confidence went up a notch.
Some of his hold-up play in the second-half was exquisite, and if not for some dodgy decisions from Mbeumo, the hosts should have added to their advantage.
Not always PL-proven stars
Amorim will be delighted to see his new striker proving his mettle under extreme duress, and for his new Belgian goalie.
The former Royal Antwerp keeper made three impressive saves, but the most important bit of play came from a dangerous ball into the box.
Instead of trying to punch the ball like Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir, the 23-year-old leapt over the attackers and calmly caught the ball.
United fans were cheering like crazy after that, and after a long time, it looked like the defence was playing with a commanding presence behind them.
Now, for the players to keep up this momentum against Liverpool after the international break. Amorim will be desperate to get rid of the familiar one step forward, and two steps back gimmick.
Feature image Gareth Copley 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
