Manchester United began their Premier League campaign for the 2024/25 season with a 1-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford last Friday. Joshua Zirkzee scored the only goal of the match in the 87th minute in his debut for the club.
The Red Devils’ next match will be a trip to the AmEx to take on Brighton and Hove Albion. It was a good start for them in their opening match, but their decision to persist with Bruno Fernandes seemed to be a questionable one.
Bruno Fernandes Struggled in Front of Opposition Goal
Fernandes started as the frontman in United’s 4-2-3-1, with Amad Diallo and Marcus Rashford on the flanks and Mason Mount as the No. 10. The 29-year-old Portuguese midfielder started in the same role in the Community Shield match against Manchester City last week.
However, Fulham is a different beast compared to Manchester City, and hence, it was a bit surprising to see Erik ten Hag persist with Fernandes as the false nine against them, too.
Fernandes has scored 79 goals for Manchester United in 235 matches, but most of those goals have come either from set-pieces or long-distance shots. He did not seem quite comfortable making use of the opportunities that came his way inside the opposition penalty box on Friday.
He wasted a few such opportunities, and had it not been for Zirkzee, who came in as a substitute in the latter stages of the match, United would have been forced to split points with Fulham.
Moreover, Mount, who spent the majority of the last season nursing an injury, also did not seem very influential playing as the No. 10. The Red Devils seemed more dependent on Rashford and Garnacho, who replaced Amad in the second half, to launch their attacks.
Could Zirkzee Start United’s Next Match?
It will be interesting to see whether ten Hag decides to stick to the same starting XI against Brighton. The logical option for him is certainly to drop Mount and play Fernandes in his usual number 10 role, with Zirkzee starting as the centre-forward.
Playing Fernandes as a false nine is more of a defensive move, which could prove to be effective against big teams like Manchester City, Liverpool, or Arsenal. It could help Manchester United have more presence in the central areas to stop the opposition’s attacks higher up the pitch.
However, against lesser teams, that tactic could hamper United’s attacking prowess considerably, as they found out against Fulham. Hence, to have a proper No. 9 like Zirkzee or Rasmus Hojlund seems to be the logical choice for ten Hag against smaller teams.
A trip to Brighton is by no means an easy affair these days. It remains to be seen whether United’s struggles to find the net continue against them, too. One positive for them is that Rashford seems to have regained some of his old vigour and intensity, which were missing for the majority of last season. With Alejandro Garnacho also looking threatening from counter-attacks, things have started to look promising for the Red Devils.