The UEFA Super Cup has come and gone, and Manchester United were able to see some important takeaways against what is surely one of the strongest clubs in soccer today.
The UEFA Super Cup saw Manchester United take on Real Madrid. When playing against a side of the quality of Madrid, there are always lessons to learn, even if it’s only preseason. Here are three important takeaways for United out of the Super Cup.
Jesse Lingard needs to come off the bench
While this is likely (hopefully) going to be the case for much of the Premier League season, it’s safe to say that Jesse Lingard needs to be coming off the bench. His pace is nice to have, but when you are playing with a striker not well-known for his defensive contributions, you need to have wingers who can force the issue at times, or at least draw attention away from Lukaku.
Lingard, more often than not, is not that winger. For lack of a better term, he’s a bit of a ‘one trick pony’, relying almost entirely on his pace to beat defenders. This is fine if he comes off the bench for 30 or less minutes per match. But when you’re playing a side like Madrid, you need to have more quality on the ball.
The better option in the Super Cup would have been to either go with Anthony Martial to have more skill on the wing, therefore opening space up for Lukaku. While it must be said that Martial had a slight slump last season, he still has the quality and attributes to be starting over Lingard in matches like this.
The second option, and the one Jose Mourinho decided to go with in the second half, was to bring on Marcus Rashford. This allowed United a different dimension in attack, and Rashford created multiple scoring chances due to his abilities.
Signing Nemanja Matic is giving the midfield flexibility
One of the benefits of signing Matic is the flexibility he is giving to the United midfield. This was something that was lacking last season, as Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini were the only two who effectively played in the deep lying midfield position under Mourinho.
Matic showed, like he has over the years with Chelsea, that he is a quality defensive midfielder. And if Mourinho chooses to not run a formation with two defensive midfielders, this is going to allow players like Carrick, Fellaini and Herrera to play in more advanced roles. And while Fellaini isn’t going to be the first option there, he showed in the Super Cup that he can be a reliable addition to the midfield in the second half to add another dimension of high pressure.
Romelu Lukaku needs pace on the wings to be successful
Going in line with the first point, Lukaku is going to need hard working, fast-paced wingers to play alongside him. His effectiveness in holding up play and not being dispossessed is second to none on the United roster, but he’s never going to create a play outside of the eighteen on his own, and this is where the wingers come in.
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Having players like Rashford, Martial, Mkhitaryan and Lingard on the wing is going to be key to the success in his first season as a Red Devil. This is something that was showcased in the first ten minutes of the Super Cup and much of the second half, but needs to be a consistent plan throughout the Premier League season.
If pairing Lukaku with Rashford and Mkhitaryan or maybe even Martial is an option, then it needs to be done.