The Devil’s Diary: Martial makes you forget Ronaldo, but Erik the Hague fits both!

Third preliminary match, third Martial goal and third win. This is the spirit of Manchester United’s pre-season tour, which gives fans high hopes for the upcoming season. Match by match, the game is looking better and better, so what did the game against London side Crystal Palace reveal?

A beautiful, but at the same time too heated for a friendly match had one single flaw, the team of coach Patrick Vieira was missing a number of mainstays due to not being vaccinated against coronavirus. The quality of the match suffered as a result and it showed on the pitch as Manchester United dominated for most of the time.

Lightning attack Rashford – Martial – Sancho

This attacking option offers some really hellish speed, if the effectiveness is there too, Erik ten Hag has a really interesting attacking option, especially for quick counter attacks. Moreover, if we take into account that they will be supported from the midfield by skilful technical midfielders like Fred, Bruno Fernandes, Donny van de Beek or Christian Eriksen, the opponents have a lot to look forward to.

But their ability to come up with something interesting will be even more important if the game is played to the full. That’s when Cristiano Ronaldo will be very important, that is of course if he stays at Old Trafford, having scored most of his goals inside the box last season.

He doesn’t run as much given his age, but he is still cool in front of goal and his effectiveness will be needed. Martial will have a different role again, only they will both have to carry their roles. Ronaldo less time on the pitch and the French striker, who has already scored three goals since his return to Manchester, regaining the role of number two.

If the Portuguese cannonballer does indeed stay at United, then hopefully Martial’s performance will not dip again like we have witnessed in the past seasons. This could indeed be his last chance at Old Trafford. But so far, so good!

Will the Hag opt for a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, or even a 3-back game?

The Dutch coach flirted with a three central defender formation at Utrecht, but at Ajax he has been faithful to the classic 4-3-3, alternating between attacking (rarely used) and defensive. At the end of last season, he also tried the 4-3-1-2 formation several times. However, given what we’ve been watching in the build-up, he hasn’t been too keen on this experiment.

For the first time, we certainly have to give credit to van de Beek in pre-season, whose arrival was definitely noticeable in terms of interplay. Together with Fernandes and Fred, they can form a strong and, above all, technically dominant trio that will have the upper hand over most of their opponents in midfield.

In addition, they will be joined by Eriksen, which is why a 4-3-3 (attacking) formation would give a lot of room for creativity and utility from these players. On the other hand, the 4-3-3 (defensive) option, the back pairing currently used with Fred and Scott McTominay, would be a good solution for a more defensive style of play. However, the midfield would still need some reinforcements, that’s no secret.

The Red Devils have got off on the right foot

Manchester United’s performance so far can be more than positive. The team is looking better and better from game to game, on the other hand, we have to take into account the low quality of the opponents so far, except for Liverpool, which was, of course, Thursday compared to normal.

Also, it would definitely be good to start introducing new reinforcements to the team, who are expected to play a big role in the coming season. In this regard, we are talking mainly about the defense, which has not been practically tested yet, which is also a great pity. Maybe Atlético Madrid, who are waiting for us after Aston Villa, will help in this respect.

Source: Manchester United