Andrey Santos made his unofficial Manchester United debut in the first-half against Wrexham, with plenty to like about the performance.
Pre-season kicked off for Manchester United this weekend as Michael Carrick’s side were beaten 1-0 by Wrexham, but as always in pre-season, the result is secondary.
The second half was particularly impressive, with United’s youngsters dominating Wrexham and almost getting back into the game. But it was during the first-half that Andrey Santos made his debut.
It was a very limited sample size, with the entire team lacking sharpness. But Santos did have enough time in those 45 minutes to demonstrate some of his qualities.
What did YOU make of Andrey Santos’ pre-season debut for Man Utd vs Wrexham?
Santos played 45 minutes in the first half…
Andrey Santos’ snappy passes could be perfect for Benjamin Sesko
Santos started alongside Mason Mount, and the Brazilian showed plenty to like. Defensively, he was switched on to deny Wrexham a big chance early in the first-half, but on the ball was what caught the eye.
United dominated most of the game, including the first-half with Santos getting plenty of possession.
Wrexham were penned inside their own third with Santos at the base of United’s structure on the ball, dictating play. One particularly pleasing thing he did a handful of times was the snappiness of his passing.
When possession was recycled back to Santos, the Brazilian was punching first-time balls back toward Joshua Zirkzee and Jack Fletcher, which unfortunately didn’t amount to anything, but the intent was clear.
These passes were to try and catch Wrexham out while sat in a low-block and get his teammates in on goal, or to at least bypass the first line of five. While it wasn’t successful for United on this event, the more Santos tries these passes in training and during games, the forward players will learn to expect it.
This is a tool United can use to break low blocks next season, with Youri Tielemans also adept at doing it. Santos’ passes will also suit players who weren’t playing with him on Saturday better.
Name your biggest positive and biggest negative from Man Utd’s game vs Wrexham…
The stats showed how well Man Utd played vs Wrexham…
Benjamin Sesko will love Santos’ progressive passing at Manchester United
Santos’ passing was a big positive from the win, but we might not see the true benefit of these balls forced through the lines until Benjamin Sesko, Marcus Rashford, and Matheus Cunha are back.
All three, particularly Sesko, will be on the last line in central positions, and Santos’ balls will be expected and therefore capitalised by the forward players running in behind and timing it to catch out defences.
United struggled against deep-lying defences last season, and in Santos, United have a new tool to break through these struggles.
Carrick has clearly implemented a more patient style of play this summer, and in the display against Wrexham, we can see Santos could be central to that. Exciting signs from Santos, we should see more next week against Rosenborg.
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