Darren Fletcher made a lot of correct decisions against Burnley as Man Utd put in a great performance, but one curious call with one player leaves his successor with an enigma to solve.
Most of the correct decisions Darren Fletcher made against Burnley were the easy wins, which Ruben Amorim just refused to take.
Be it pushing Bruno Fernandes further forward, or bringing Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot back as full-backs instead of centre-back and wing-back respectively, these were no-brainer calls.
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However, in the process, he made a curious decision with a summer signing that leaves him as the odd man out at Old Trafford, especially when Amad and Bryan Mbeumo return from AFCON.
Darren Fletcher’s curious Matheus Cunha decision
In the absence of Amad, Mbeumo, and Fernandes, Matheus Cunha had become the talisman of Ruben Amorim’s Man Utd.
He regularly came up with the goods in crunch moments, and his ball progression was a much-needed threat in an attack that was otherwise bereft of ideas.
The hope was that even when Fletcher goes back to a back-four, Cunha had a natural role as the right-footed inside forward on the left.
However, it didn’t pan out that way against Burnley, as Fletcher made the curious choice of deploying Cunha on the right instead.
Fletcher wanted Dorgu to stay high and wide to stretch Burnley, so he was played on the left, from where he assisted Benjamin Sesko’s second goal.
Cunha, on the other hand, was left as the odd man out since he’s not explosive enough to function as a traditional winger, and not double-footed enough to come inside on his left.
It left United with a lopsided attack because Cunha kept coming inside, leaving United short of width on that wing.
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It caused Diogo Dalot plenty of problems, since he didn’t know whether to overlap or underlap, and Cunha, not knowing when to track back, allowed Burnley plenty of joy down his flank.
Fletcher switched things up somewhat in the second half by swapping Cunha and Fernandes’ positions, but it was a confusing game for the Brazilian.
Cunha will become an enigma to solve at Man Utd
Ineos have recruited players who are not system-specific, but Cunha is as close as it gets to a natural No. 10 who doesn’t thrive as much elsewhere.
In a system with just one attacking midfielder instead of two in Amorim’s setup, he’ll be up against Fernandes to get into the team.
The left wing is an option, especially if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Michael Carrick arrive, since they both play with inverted wingers, but Amad’s ability with both feet might give him the nod.
The right wing will be locked up by Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko will thrive with more support behind him, which means the No. 9 position is taken.
Cunha suddenly becomes a jack of all trades but master of none – a player who can play multiple positions, but none of which suits him perfectly.
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