Vince Rosetta - Lets Talk About Bruno
For all the talk about tactics, momentum, and finishing the season strong, Manchester United’s trip to Brighton yesterday really only had one storyline that mattered: getting Bruno Fernandes the Premier League assist record. The match itself felt secondary from the opening whistle. Brighton were still chasing European positioning, United’s league place was basically settled, and yet every attack seemed to revolve around whether Bruno could create that one historic moment. Once Patrick Dorgu buried Fernandes’ corner to hand him assist number 21, the objective was complete. Everything after that just felt like bonus content.
The game itself almost became a ceremonial event built around one statistic. Even the celebrations after the assist felt more emotional than the actual result. United winning 3-0 over Brighton looked impressive on paper, but everybody watching knew the real headline had already happened half an hour in.
Suwaid Fazal - The return of 4-4-2?
It’s widely accepted that a 4-4-2 formation is the best way to organise a side’s defence. The idea is fairly simple: block the centre, don’t leave space between the lines, and get the wide players to take up defensive responsibility. What’s not often mentioned is how this simplifies the job for a central midfielder. They’re not asked to shuffle from side to side with wide midfielders covering the flanks, and can time their jumps with a front-two blocking the central space.
Mason Mount, who hasn’t played in deeper roles for most of his career, looked more than serviceable in a deeper role because of this little change on the weekend, while Kobbie Mainoo continued his good form. United also seemed to have the players in the other areas to make this work, and it’ll be interesting to see if Michael Carrick carries this forward into next year. It’s often forgotten that Sir Alex continued with this formation in lots of home games right till the end of his reign, even after experimenting with other formations throughout the noughties
Michael Carrick liked to keep it simple during his playing days, and he’s done the same as manager so far. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if this remains his default formation next season.
Colin Damms - Life without Case
It took about 25 minutes for United to find their feet in possession, but once they did they never looked back on Sunday. There was good combination play up front, Bruno Fernandes heavily involved in all areas, and a good base in midfield with Mason Mount playing deeper alongside Kobbie Mainoo.
Sure, it was the final day of the season, but Brighton & Hove Albion had quite a lot to play for, and the Reds swamped them.
From the midway point of the first half through to about the hour mark in the second half it was all United, and Mount was a big part of it. He had the 1-2 combo with Amad on Mbeumo’s goal and had several involvements going back to front. 13 defensive contributions with a few tackles and seven ball recoveries, won 7-8 of his ground duels and was only dispossessed once.
Mount certainly isn’t the answer to replacing Casemiro, but with Carrick examining options for next season he will be an intriguing one. His wages make it difficult to move him to a smaller club, and he still has two years left on his contract. If he can carve out a role for himself to change up the look of the midfield in a season where United will be playing far more often, he could discover a nice second act in his Old Trafford stay.