Before Sunday’s game against Liverpool, the majority of Manchester United fans must have feared the worst considering the form the team had displayed recently.
United had lost their last three Premier League games on the trot while not troubling the scorers and an away tie at Anfield had everyone sweating.
But instead, the Red Devils produced their finest display under Ruben Amorim and secured a 2-2 draw. They were unlucky not to come away with all three points with Harry Maguire missing a huge chance with the last kick of the game.
The players once again showed big-game temperament and the return of both Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes helped the team massively, especially out of possession as compared to the weak display put in during the loss against Newcastle.
Bruno’s impact
The sheer amount of ground coverage the Uruguayan brings makes a huge difference but the return of the skipper was another huge bonus for the head coach.
Managers have been forced to overplay the Portugal international but due to his suspension, the 30-year-old was well rested for the tie and grabbed an assist for Lisandro Martinez’s opener. He doubled up on Liverpool’s right-back time and again.
He was everywhere, and played even better when asked to play alongside Ugarte in midfield. Many have questioned his place in Amorim’s system but when on song, there is no one better than the captain.
Another player who impressed was Diogo Dalot, who has been forced to play at left wingback in the absence of Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia even though Amorim knows his compatriot is better suited to the right flank.
And while the 25-year-old has not really shone since the ex-Sporting Lisbon took charge, he was right on the money against the Merseysiders.
He took on the defensively-suspect Trent Alexander-Arnold everytime and had the beating of him and the coach will hope Dalot can be as positive going forward in the games to come.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot also had to grudgingly praise both Portugal internationals for their impact, with United constantly taking advantage of their left-flank superiority and eventually made it count.
Dalot, Bruno earn Slot’s praise
When asked whether United’s biggest threat came down their right, Slot said, “Yeah, I think they did and that’s also to do with Bruno Fernandes who is a very, very good player,” Slot said after the game.
“He played a very good game today as well and they’ve shown many times, United, that when things are really difficult, they can show up. The FA Cup final against Manchester City. They did cause us some problems.
“Dalot was a threat as well on the left side. We are talking about two starters of the Portugal national team so that’s why it’s not always easy to prevent them from getting in dangerous situations. This happened a few times today and, unfortunately, that led to two goals.”
After the high of Sunday, both Amorim and Fernandes demanded consistency from the team and the real challenge will be their next Premier League test against bottom of the table Southampton.
Feature image Carl Recine 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
