Can Manchester United kick on?

Karan Ahgun

β€” 3 min read
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Can Manchester United kick on?

The period before this recent international break was the best run Manchester United have had under Ruben Amorim. They are currently 5 games unbeaten, which included wins against Brighton, Liverpool and Sunderland, and a couple of draws against Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur. United's next 5 games are - statistically speaking - the second easiest across the whole league. So can Amorim's men take advantage of this and extend their good run?

United's good run in the Premier League over October landed Ruben Amorim and Bryan Mbeumo, the Manager and Player of the Month awards respectively. These awards really highlighted to everyone involved the good progress the team has made recently. The key to this improvement has been a stark difference in intensity and physicality that has been visually evident in almost all the matches throughout this run. United have been able to go more direct with long balls to Benjamin Sesko, which puts less focus on playing out of the back on defenders who are not very comfortable doing that. They are amongst the highest teams in terms of playing long balls, having played well over 600 long balls and completing 44% of those passes. The biggest beneficiary of adopting this tactic has definitely been Bryan Mbeumo. This more direct approach has seen the Cameroonian score 4 goals and assist once in the last 5 games. Alongside this, Mbeumo's relationship with Amad on the right-hand side has improved drastically, with each player understanding which zones they should be in to compliment each other. United fans will be hoping to get the most out of both Mbeumo and Amad before they leave to play in the AFCON in December.

Another reason for United's upturn in form is the introduction of Senne Lammens in goal. The previous occupiers of this position, in Onana and Bayindir, were calamitous and instilled fear in their defences. So far, Lammens has been the total opposite. Since the Belgian has come into the Starting XI, United have not lost a game and he has made some crucial saves, especially in the game against Tottenham Hotspur. He looks very reassured in goal and you can see how well he communicates to his defenders, which will give them more confidence knowing that if they make a mistake, Lammens is there to bail them out. Defender, Matthijs de Ligt has also been a standout performer. The Dutchman has been much improved on his form last season as he has looked more aggressive, and has also improved his passing game. So far this season, de Ligt has won 18 tackles and 40 aerial duels. He has been dominant in almost every game and has said himself that he feels that his now entering his prime.

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