With a b/e/a/t of the ball, Jadon Sancho turned Demarai Gray and Amadou Onana into clowns in Man Utd’s 2-0 win over Everton.
In the 21st minute, Sancho poured the ball in Man Utd’s counterattack. Gray and Onana came together, ready to prevent Man Utd stars from continuing to pour the ball. However, Sancho made a stop on the ball, causing the two Everton players to lose their pillars and fall to the field. Sancho’s handling made the Old Trafford fans cheer with excitement.
Sancho opened 4 vs 4 situations for Man Utd. He passed it to Antony. Next, Antony passed Marcel Sabitzer to finish but could not b/e/a/t Jordan Pickford.
It was one of five situations where Sancho made a key pass (opening up dangerous opportunities) for Man Utd. In the first half, Sancho created 3 chances, one of which directly assisted Scott McTominay to score the opener. In the 41st minute, the former Dortmund star made a dangerous cross for Marcus Rashford.
Sancho got 7.7 points after Man Utd’s 2-0 win. After 6 matches in the Premier League, the striker born in 2000 has only been rated above 7.5 points once. The pass to McTominay was Sancho’s second assist in the 2022/23 Premier League.
The England player is under great pressure at Old Trafford. In the past few days, Sancho has been the focus of the British newspaper with the story that will soon be eliminated by the “Red Devils”. Manchester Evening News reports that Sancho is at the top of the list to be excluded by coach Erik Ten Hag after this season.
However, Sancho is still trusted by coach Ten Hag despite his declining performance. He started two consecutive matches against Brentford, and Everton and showed an improving performance.
Fernandes is Man Utd’s difference
With 11 shots on target in 29 shots, Man Utd reached its best record in a Premier League game this season. Three of those chances were created from passes over 50 meters long. Before this season, “Red Devils” only created chances once with a pass of 50 m or more.
It’s a big change and, coincidentally, Bruno Fernandes is active in a deep-lying role. “At the time when Casemiro, Christian Eriksen wasn’t around, you had to find a solution. I wanted a player who could play deep to develop the ball and make attacking kicks. I decided to drag. Fernandes stepped back and he performed brilliantly,” confirmed coach Erik Ten Hag.
Fernandes’ passing passes have high accuracy and many times put teammates in a favorable position to score.
In the first 45 minutes of the game, Fernandes twice made a situation to put the ball from Man Utd’s side of the field into the space behind the visitors’ defense. That was the time when Everton implemented a high-pressing plan and did not have enough troops to f/i/g/h/t Man Utd’s transitions.
In the 22nd minute, Fernandes waved the ball beyond Ben Godfrey’s reach. The rest of Antony’s job was pretty easy. He h/i/t the ball with speed and faced goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Unfortunately, the goal of the former Ajax star is not dangerous enough to score.
Similarly in the 28th minute, the Portuguese midfielder scanned his eyes and saw that Marcus Rashford was in a favorable position. He accurately poured the ball for the England player to p/e/n/e/t/r/a/t/e the Everton penalty area. Once again, it was only Pickford’s excellence that kept Everton out of the game.
Man Utd’s tactics are quite clear. They made 6 long passes over 30m to create chances. “Fernandes is an inspiration for the surrounding satellites to boldly unlock the Everton defense with long balls,” said The Athletic.
The style of coach Erik ten Hag, as is often the case at Ajax, is to control and press right in the opponent’s half. However, the Dutch military leader is also quite pragmatic and flexible in tactical layout.
Casemiro was suspended and Christian Eriksen could not start due to injury, Coach Ten Hag decided to use Fernandes in position 6. The former Ajax coach took advantage of Fernandes’ keen observation and good passing ability to dominate the area. midfield, allowing Scott McTominay and Marcel Sabitzer to provide support for the attack.
Ten Hag did it because he understood that Fernandes had better ball rotation than the midfield pairing playing directly above him.
