Manchester United may have spent more than £130million on Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha this summer, but Bruno Fernandes won’t give up his status as the main man easily.
Fernandes scored both goals in United’s 2-1 victory over West Ham in their Premier League Summer Series opener at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, converting from the spot after Alphonse Areola had dropped the ball and fouled Ayden Heaven, and a fantastic second goal after Kobbie Mainoo intercepted Areola’s awful pass out from the back.
The United captain could have had a hat-trick but scuffed his effort straight at the Hammers keeper early in the second half.
Fernandes carried United through a desperate season that saw them finish 15th in the Premier League and lose the Europa League final to Tottenham, and could easily have left Old Trafford this summer after receiving a mega-money offer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal but decided to stay. United fans will be relieved that he did.
The Portugal star is likely to play in a more deeper midfield role this season after United signed Mbeumo and Cunha to fill the two No 10 positions in Ruben Amorim‘s 3-4-2-1 system, but he started further forward in New Jersey because Mbeumo still needs some more preparation before he can make his debut.
The Portugal star provided the pass that saw Rasmus Hojlund rattle a post inside the first minute and was never far from the action. But the highlight was his second goal in the 52nd minute, feigning to shoot at one side of the goal and then floating the ball into the other top corner.
Bruno Fernandes once again stole the show for Manchester United on Saturday evening
The pressure is on Rasmus Hojlund to show he can lead the line for United as the club continue to be linked with a number of strikers.
The Dane made a strong start when he charged forward to hit the outside of the post in the opening seconds, and also showed good feet before scooping another effort over from the edge of the box in the first half.
There were echoes of his first appearance on tour a year ago when he showed similar strength to score against Arsenal at the SoFi Stadium in LA before going off minutes later with a hamstring injury that kept him out of action until late September.
At least Hojlund lasted until Amorim changed all his 10 outfield players after the hour mark, but he had gone a little quiet by then and will be hoping to show a bit more against Bournemouth in the second game in Chicago next week.
Amorim started with Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte in midfield, and both players impressed during the 60-odd minutes they were on the pitch at the MetLife.
Ugarte had his fair share of critics during his first season in England after making a £50million move from Paris Saint-Germain. One of the problems was that he struggles to play two games a week, although that won’t be a problem for the Uruguayan this season.
He looked sharp against West Ham and the highlight came just before half time when he showed great feet to beat several opponents and set up Amad Diallo who was narrowly offside as he swept the ball home.
Mainoo has struggled under Amorim after being one of the success stories of the Erik ten Hag era as he tried to find his best position in the new system amid an ongoing contract stalemate. But the youngster was lively here and made the crucial intervention that led to the second goal.
Kobbie Mainoo will be looking to nail down a starting spot in Ruben Amorim’s side
The new season hasn’t started yet but the increased access given to broadcasters at Premier League games is being trialled during the summer series here in the US.
The new rules state that each team must on two occasions either put up the manager for interview at half-time or a substituted player coming off the pitch – on the proviso that the questions are positive – and allow a camera in the dressing-room before the game.
The NBC cameras were given brief access to the United dressing-room at the MetLife Stadium, and Ruben Amorim became the first United boss to give a half-time interview, telling the broadcaster that he was happy with how his team had played in the first half and he would change the entire starting line-up before 70 minutes.
Has the US soccer market reached saturation point after a summer in which America has hosted an extensive Club World Cup? Manchester United are usually an easy sell in this country, but the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium was barely half full for the club’s opening Premier League Summer Series game against West Ham.
We expected the number of fans to increase significantly after the earlier game here between Bournemouth and Everton, but it didn’t appear to happen. It will be interesting to see how many tickets the Premier League can sell for the next two rounds of games in Chicago and Atlanta.
It wasn’t a full house at the MetLife Stadium despite Manchester United being in town
United have talked in pre-season about the importance of scoring more from set-pieces. Mason Mount referenced the issue when he spoke to reporters in Chicago, and young defender Ayden Heaven said that United need to show the same ruthlessness as his old club Arsenal who scored 22 goals from set-pieces in the Premier League last season, with centre-backs Gabriel and William Saliba a particular threat.
‘I watched them very closely, the likes of Saliba and Gabriel,’ said Heaven. ‘I learned a lot from them. You can see they’re quite good in the air, aren’t they, from corners. I’ve said in the past I want to score more, and I’m working on that. That’s what I want to add to my game, scoring from set-pieces.’
However, when opportunity knocked at the MetLife Stadium, United again came up short. Fernandes swung over a corner from the left in the first half and it reached Leny Yoro unmarked in front of goal, but the young Frenchman headed wide. They are the kind of misses United can ill afford this season and Amorim will be hoping his team can show more of a killer instinct in these situations.
