Five lessons learnt from Manchester United's 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid

 

By Godwin Odiko

Manchester United lost their second pre-season game after the lost to Wrexham on Wednesday. Football Coach and pundit Godwin Odiko pens down the key highlights from the very exciting game played in Texas Houston.

1) Onana showed exactly why Erik Ten Hag went all the way to purchase him

The Cameroon international showed exactly why Manchester United spent big on him to come to Old Trafford. In the game, many time he was seen coming out to the center back zone to help with build up play. This was something we didn't experience with David De Gea. 

The 27-year-old shot stopper played the role of a sweeper goalkeeper and excelled greatly in it. Moving forward, Manchester United fans can be assured that the exciting possession based football of Erik Ten Hag will be seen in the season as the club now has some of the right players to help the coach implement that.

2) Bruno Fernandes simply can't excel playing on the flank

The manager tried Bruno Fernandes on the flank to accommodate Mason Mount as Manchester United's attacking midfielder but the experiment didn't work out well. 

Bruno Fernandes plays his best football when he is utilized centrally. And it showed in the second half when he was drafted to the middle of the pack and Manchester United started dominating the midfield. Going forward, Erik Ten Hag should never use Bruno as a winger. Instead, we should go to the market and get a very exciting winger if we are lacking good wingers.

3) Jude Bellingham showed why Real Madrid spent heavy on him

The English midfielder showed exactly why Real Madrid broke transfer record to bring him to Spain. Aside the beautiful goal he scored, he was magnificent up until he was substituted to save his energy for the next game.

The 20-year-old midfielder showed there is more to expect from him and Real Madrid fans can be assured that their big money signing will excel in Spain.

4) Manchester United has to get a striker before the end of the transfer window

One can not overemphasize this enough. Manchester United just have to get a striker in the market before it closes. Because what we saw against Real Madrid was clear evidence that a striker is needed at the club. 

Reports from reputable sources claim Manchester United are close to agreeing a deal with Atalanta's Rasmus Hojlund. The faster they get that deal over the line the better. Harry Kane is also available in the market and I don't see anything bad if we can get both strikers into the team. After all, Manchester United are a big club and should be able to afford having two prolific goalscorers in the team.

5) No Benzema no problem for Real Madrid

After Karim Benzema left for the money spinning Saudi Arabian league many would imagine that Madrid will struggle without him but it showed that they weren't even missing him against Manchester United thanks to the cleverness of Carlo Ancelotti who deployed a formation that ensured Vinicious Jnr and Rodrygo partner up top as strikers. The duo caused Manchester United's back line lot of problem. It's evident that Real Madrid are in the market for a top striker with Kylian Mbappe top of their list. If they can get Mbappe they will never miss Benzema.

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