Manchester United are prone to always dealing in extremes, but cold, hard facts never lie, and they say that Ruben Amorim has a player outperforming Ballon d’Or winners in a key area this season.
Less than a week after premature obituaries were being written about a tetchy Ruben Amorim after a 1-1 draw against West Ham, Man Utd have bounced back in style.
The 4-1 win at Wolves is the first time under Ruben Amorim that Man Utd have won back-to-back away games, so the mood is a bit brighter.
Who is your Manchester United Man Of The Match vs Wolves?
Who impressed you the most?
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
United have now scored the third-highest number of goals in the league this season, behind only Man City and Arsenal, something they could not have achieved without a player who’s outperforming Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele since the start of last season.
FBL-ENG-PR-WOLVES-MAN UTD
Photo by Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images
Bryan Mbeumo is setting the tone across Europe
Bryan Mbeumo was back on the scoresheet after a frustrating few games, scoring United’s second goal to restore their lead against Wolves.
It takes him to seven goals in all competitions this season without taking a single penalty, which is a good return for a player in a struggling side.
This comes on the heels of his best-ever scoring season for Brentford, when he breached the 20-goal mark for The Bees last season.
More United News
Overall, since the start of last season, those returns put him ahead of Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and Barcelona’s Raphinha in the list of players with the most non-penalty goals.
Mbeumo has scored 21 now with his strike against Wolves, while Dembele and Raphinha stand at 20 each.
Could YOU see Bryan Mbeumo as a future Man Utd captain after Bruno Fernandes’ exit? 🤔🫡
Amad compared Bryan Mbeumo with Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire. If Mbeumo isn’t ‘Man Utd captain material,’ who should be next in line for the armband? 👀
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
Regardless of the parameters involved, it is remarkable for a player who was starting the previous season at Brentford to be mentioned in the same breath as Dembele and Raphinha.
He got his deserved move to Old Trafford this summer and has continued from where he left off at Brentford, which speaks volumes about his mentality.
Ruben Amorim will have to deal with a huge headache
The flipside to Mbeumo’s sparkling performances so far for Man Utd is that the hole he will leave behind when he departs for AFCON continues to get bigger.
Mason Mount’s form makes it slightly easier to deal with, but United simply have no other attacker in their squad who plays like Mbeumo.
For one, his left-footedness makes him uniquely suited to come inside from the right, and the only other attacker who can do that, Amad, is leaving with him.
Then, his ability to stretch defences despite not starting as a striker is crucial, because most of the other United attackers like to receive the ball at their feet and drive at the defence.
A left-footed attacker in United’s academy is Shea Lacey, but he’s more of a nifty operator between the lines who is more slick than explosive.
Amorim will simply have to change the way United attack because Mbeumo’s profile is not replicable in the current squad.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox