Manchester United could only manage a 1-1 draw at Fulham on Sunday afternoon, as Benjamin Sesko cut a frustrated figure from the bench.
Ruben Amorim saw his Manchester United side lose 1-0 at home to Arsenal last weekend, but there were some encouraging signs on display.
Those signs were on show again as United looked bright early on against Fulham, with summer signing Matheus Cunha striking the post and forcing a great save from Bernd Leno.
Bruno Fernandes blazed a penalty over the bar, before Leny Yoro’s contentious header handed United the lead via a deflection off Rodrigo Muniz.
United looked disjointed in the second half and couldn’t find a second goal before Emile Smith Rowe flicked home a leveller for Fulham.
Fulham looked more dangerous late on, and United fans are left to wonder how the Red Devils didn’t kick on after taking that 1-0 lead.
Fulham v Manchester United - Premier League
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Rio Ferdinand on Benjamin Sesko cameo for Manchester United
United went for it with an attacking change, with Casemiro taken off in favour of striker Benjamin Sesko.
The goal came just five minutes later, but United were not really able to get Sesko into the game.
United pounced to sign Sesko earlier this month, but he is waiting for his first Premier League start.
The Slovenian came on against Arsenal and Fulham and has yet to really show United fans what he is all about in the final third.
Rio Ferdinand doesn’t think that is entirely Sesko’s fault, though, telling Rio Ferdinand Presents that his teammates weren’t picking him out enough.
Ferdinand suggested that United should have been knocking the ball long into Sesko and asking him to cause problems against a tiring Fulham defence.
The former United defender admitted that his ‘one concern’ around Sesko’s display was that his teammates failed to pick him out and play to his strengths, meaning he still doesn’t really know what Sesko provides.
“We were chasing it as individuals by that point, when he came on, and more so, even, after he came on,” said Ferdinand.
“People were coming out of the shape, and it didn’t look great, we didn’t have no controlled possession. I didn’t really see any balls played into him.
“I think about it, if I played and I’m at Craven Cottage, and I’ve been there under pressure, a tough place to go. Sometimes, you’ve got a player like him, Sesko, he comes on; 6ft 5in, a beast of a man, how about you just play the ball into him? And ask the question, what have you got? That’s what I would be doing. Let me just play the ball into an area, and say ‘what type of forward am I dealing with here, are we going to make them defend?’
“Get the ball into him! He ain’t going to be an easy day’s work. After 65-70 minutes of playing against someone like Cunha, and then he comes on… their centre-halves were blowing, get it into him and make them defend! But we’re playing around everywhere. Get it into somebody that can cause a problem and ask questions of the opposing team, and we go against that.
“That was probably the one concern for me, in that sense, because you’re not getting to see who he is. I’d rather you play it into him, and he looked rubbish, so I know what I’ve got. I actually don’t know what he is, or what he’s doing right now.
“It’s only a couple of minutes, don’t get me wrong, I’m not pointing the finger, but you’ve got to help your teammates, sometimes, to find their feet in the team,” he added.
Ruben Amorim likely to continue with Benjamin Sesko on the bench
Sesko is in something of a Catch-22 situation right now.
The Slovenian may feel that he needs to make an impact in order to force his way into United’s starting lineup, but it’s difficult to impact the game without minutes.
Sesko showed some nice touches against Fulham and looked to have some decent link-up play in his locker.
The attacking threat wasn’t there, though, and Amorim may continue with Sesko on the bench as he settles in.
United deployed a fluid front three against Arsenal and Fulham, with Mason Mount, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo all starting.
That may be Amorim’s preferred front three for the foreseeable future, but Sesko will hope to catch the eye soon – ideally with some help from his new teammates at Old Trafford.