Ruben Amorim made a bold call at Anfield to drop Benjamin Sesko despite him scoring in consecutive games for the club coming into it, but his success means he can unleash Kobbie Mainoo.
Benjamin Sesko, at least on paper, looked like the perfect counter to the aerial dominance of Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.
However, Ruben Amorim went a step ahead and realised an aerial duel is exactly what they want, so he didn’t give them it.
The focus was on winning the second balls from the balls they head away, which Man Utd did expertly, making it certain that Ruben Amorim makes game-specific changes.
That’s a positive sign for Kobbie Mainoo, because he can be unleashed for United to have the best of both worlds.
Ruben Amorim’s Benjamin Sesko call and its meaning
Amorim has been fairly stubborn about his system, but in the last two games, the philosophy has changed, even if the system hasn’t.
United realised they weren’t doing a good job of building out from the back, so he instructed Senne Lammens to go long and rely on second balls.
The plan at Anfield was the culmination of the process that began at home against Sunderland, where Lammens did something similar, albeit not to such an extreme degree.
Clearly, Sesko is viewed as a player who can create havoc if the team dominates possession and creates plenty of chances for the striker.
He’s growing into a more complete role, and shone in a cameo against Liverpool as well, but it means Amorim doesn’t want his striker to get into wrestling matches anymore, something which Rasmus Hojlund became infamous for.
This tactical flexibility brings Kobbie Mainoo into the equation, because if Sesko can be dropped for a game like this and picked for another type of game, that “another type” is perfect for Mainoo too.
Kobbie Mainoo can create best of both worlds at Man Utd
The win at Anfield is repeatedly being talked about with an asterisk. Can United win the league, or dominate games by playing this way?
The general consensus is no, which means that United’s ability to win games in which they are expected to be on the front foot is still in question.
In Amorim’s tenure, United average more than twice as many points/game in matches where they have less than 50% possession (1.69), compared to games where they have the ball more than the opposition (0.82).
The solution is clear. If Sesko can be dropped to facilitate winning second balls, then Mainoo needs to be played in place of Casemiro or Manuel Ugarte in games where they will have the majority of possession.
In such games, ball circulation, tempo-setting, and quickening, plus box crashing from the midfielders, become the prime source of causing attacking havoc.
Mainoo partnering with Fernandes in games where the opposition sits in a low block, trying to do what United did to Liverpool, is the ideal scenario.
Amorim has repeatedly said that Mainoo is the alternative to Fernandes, but if Cunha can be the alternative to Sesko, as he was at Anfield, there’s no reason why Mainoo can’t be Ugarte or Casemiro’s alternative.
The Man Utd manager proved at Anfield that he’s slowly starting to implement a “horses for courses” style of play, which means Mainoo can win him the games where United are the dominant entity.
It’s the best of both worlds.
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