Why Man Utd’s awesome foursome are such a nightmare for defenders and conceding first is no longer an issue
YOU have to go back to the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson to recall when Manchester United last had such an awesome attacking foursome.
In all competitions this season Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood have 61 goals and 24 assists between them.
Rashford and Martial already have 20 goals apiece. The last time that happened was in 2011 with Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez.
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I’ve spoken to boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on numerous occasions and he’s never deviated from the path he wanted to take.
This has not happened by fluke — and it is always great to see a team evolving into what the manager wanted.
He deserves so much credit for the improvement he’s got out of the players and the freedom he’s given them.
All the team bring out the best of the players behind them or in front of them.
The front four are set up with Rashford on the left, Fernandes the No 10 in the middle, Greenwood on the right and Martial as a centre-forward.
But the beauty of those four players is they can interchange.
Rashford can go to the centre-forward position and Martial is happy to go to the left-hand side.
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Greenwood is equally good with his left and right foot — and you have Fernandes pulling the strings.
It’s so difficult for a defender to play against them because the likelihood is at some point you are going to come up against every single one of those players — and Rashford, Martial and Greenwood also have tremendous pace.
Against Bournemouth, Greenwood’s first goal was with his left foot on the left-hand side, his second goal was with his right foot and he was on the right-hand side, and Martial scored from the left-hand side.
When United were at their best, the worst thing you could do was score against them early — it seemed to get them angry.
What we have seen in recent seasons is that if United conceded early, they struggled to get back into the game and break down the opposition.
After going a goal behind on Saturday, they did not panic because now they have players — in particular that awesome foursome — capable of breaking down a very compact, tight and narrow defence.
Aside from the sheer excitement and joy such attacking flair and commitment brings for United fans, what perhaps hasn’t been picked up is how much Ole wants his team to be high pressing.
And that is something he has emphasised time and time again when we have spoken.
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Against Bournemouth, just before Greenwood scored his outstanding second goal, every single outfield United player was well into their opponents half.
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Eddie Howe’s men just couldn’t get out because the press was so high.
As good as United’s attacking football has been since the resumption, they are hugely impressive with their pressing as well.