Those who follow the beautiful game will be well aware of the struggles at Manchester United this season, with their entire campaign so far becoming a one-step forward, two steps backwards situation.
Erik ten Hag’s latest setback occurred last weekend, with his side losing 3-0 at home to Bournemouth. The hosts had 69% possession and 20 attempts at goal, but they were unable to create any clear goal-scoring opportunities.
Tonight, the Red Devils host Bayern Munich in a must-win game at Old Trafford, but in order for the Reds to win, the boss must unleash 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo.
Man Utd’s midfield issues
‘Control’ is a word that is rarely used when describing Manchester United, both in possession and without the ball. Ten Hag is persistent with playing Scott McTominay as a free-roaming high eight, whose only job in the side is to crash the box and score goals.
In fairness to the Dutch manager, this has technically been a success, as the Scotland international is United’s top scorer in the Premier League with five goals, but the detrimental effect this is having on the cohesion of the side is glaringly obvious.
The number 39 offers very little on the ball in the buildup phase and the attacking third, with the former making United extremely predictable and easy to press. The table below showcases McTominay’s in-possession statistics from this season.
Passes attempted
30.72
Worst 8%
Passes completed
25.39
Worst 15%
Progressive passes
2.66
Worst 12%
Progressive carries
1.02
Worst 41%
Key passes
0.1
Worst 2%
With just one lone defensive midfielder in the side, United have often been caught in transition and even when playing a deeper line, the protection in front of the backline is sub-par.
Andre Onana has faced at least ten shots in their last 14 matches across all competitions, which highlights the need for a defensive-minded reinforcement in midfield.
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The international could establish control in the Red Devils midfield.
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Furthermore, the fact that the Manchester club has scored 12 goals in five Champions League matches and only won once should be an indicator to tighten up at the back.
Why Kobbie Mainoo should start against Bayern
The double pivot of Fred and McTominay was heavily relied upon by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and based on United’s recent showing, Ten Hag may have to recreate his own version of that, with Mainoo and Sofyan Amrabat.
The duo are yet to play alongside each other, but they can provide defensive stability, ball retention and press resistance.
The academy graduate has only featured three times this season, due to an injury he picked up in pre-season which halted his progress, so there is only a small sample size regarding his ability to perform at the highest level.
However, his player of the match performance versus Everton on his debut was extremely impressive, showing bravery in possession and proactivity off the ball. The table below sums up his performance.
Minutes played
72
Pass completion %
83%
Dribble attempts (succ.)
3 (2)
Duels (won)
8 (5)
Interceptions
2
Mainoo brings class and a calmness to the United team, aspects that most certainly make him look “like a Man City player” as Gary Neville once stated and "unbelievable", as Roy Keane commented.
Amidst the chaos of the 3-3 away draw versus Galatasaray last time out, the subbed-on youngster had a 100% pass completion rate, dribble success rate and duels won percentage. To be thrown in at the deep end and look unphased is a sign that he is more than ready to take to the field this evening. After all, Ten Hag did say “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough”.