Manchester United are welcoming Turkish side Galatasaray to Old Trafford later today, and after Saturday’s loss, there is one player that needs to start, Hannibal Mejbri.
Hannibal Mejbri emerged in recent weeks as an unlikely saviour for Erik ten Hag in his time of need. Since his thunderous strike against Brighton last month, Hannibal has been a regular.
In his time as a regular, United beat Burnley and Crystal Palace back to back, which ended a three game losing streak. But Saturday past, Hannibal was dropped, this resulted in United back in the loss column.
Probably just a coincidence, but why change a winning formula, especially when the 20-year-old Tunisian was playing so well. Well it is this precise reason that many expect Ten Hag to slot him back in against Galatasaray in Champions League action today.
But here are three reasons we want to see him back in the starting XI…
Hannibal’s decision making is incredible
Following the 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday, Ten Hag explained that he was frustrated by the decision making of his players on the field.
Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes being the key culprits of this, with the latter not at his creative best.
This is where Hannibal comes in as he has already shown this season his football IQ is excellent and will make the correct decision nine times out of 10.
We saw this last Tuesday as he linked up really well with Anthony Martial who is also a really smart footballer.
Bruno and Mount in midfield doesn’t work
We learned this in the opening weeks of the season, but still Ten Hag persists with Bruno and Mason Mount playing in the midfield together.
This sees Mount deeper initiating phases of play, while Bruno is further forward, but still it just doesn’t work.
One change therefore to help United control games and ultimately be more assured in possession would be to move Mount or Bruno to the right side, with Hannibal in midfield.
Hannibal’s tenacity and press resistance along with his keen eye for disrupting opponents defensive lines with penetrating passes and runs make him ideal here and we saw it works last Tuesday too.
Hannibal’s running will be needed
Manchester United face a side who are unbeaten this season, and have won nine of their last 10 games.
This shows they are a force to be reckoned with in this group and one which could easily come and shock United.
Their midfield is tenacious and quick and therefore Hannibal is necessary in order to combat this, as he will track back and relentlessly hunt the ball when they try to transition.
This is an area which Hannibal is proficient in and has already made waves for his work-rate at United. Last season while on loan, Birmingham boss John Eustace even admitted Hannibal had “broken records for total distance”.
Up against Lucas Torreira and Keres Demirbay, Hannibal will also need the help of Casemiro and Sofyan Amrabat to make sure no quick breakaways result in a Wilfred Zaha goal.
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