7
You don't notice how we press better, win the ball back higher up and play a lot more quick passing, one touch stuff in the final third when he's on the pitch?
I agree that we look better when he’s on the pitch. He presses well and speeds up the play when he manages to get on the ball. He also plays some sloppy passes, goes missing for long spells and fails to support the attack. He’s been good lately so don’t want to be too critical of him, I do think expectations for him are very low though, so even when he’s below par, he’ll inevitably be praised for his performances. It’s like the anti Bruno who gets piled on regardless.
We're just a better team with him. I don't know if it is his work rate, pressing, passing (can be hit-and-miss though) or whatever, he just makes us 'tick'. Not that we're great when he's playing, but better still.
Has looked that way this season, I agree.
It’s crazy that people don’t see this. I’ve been critical of him, I thought he wasn’t good at all in the EL final for instance, but our pressing is way better when he plays, he links the play and drops into midfield and we just look more fluid and a better team more often than not when he starts.
I think it's too soon to really say this, but he is a good player who has his uses obviously. Swap Mount for Bruno yesterday as a normal 10 in a pretty normal 4231 and I think we would have shown more cutting edge going forward for example, and I don't think we lose anything off the ball the way yesterday was set up. When we play a 343 with Bruno as a CM, then yeah Mount as one of the 10s plays a lot more like a 3rd midfielder while Cunha and Mbeumo play it like front 3 players/attackers. So he definitely gives us more solidity there.
Disagree there. Depends on oponent at least. I think any "difficult" game you'd want a normal double pivot, while Bruno deeper would be asked to push forward all the time and it would leave just Casemiro back, and create the issue you saw with Ten Hag basically. Needs to be Ugarte or Mainoo next to Casemiro to give him more defensive support and cover. And honestly it's Ugarte who is the obvious choice there. Casemiro provides the positioning and deep ball playing while Ugarte can just run around and provide legs to that midfield behind the 10 in Bruno who provides the creativity.
I think he's a real asset but he seems to me clever in tight spaces, tidy in possession and good at short range interchanges. Beyond his work rate I'm not really sure how the two are similar. Bruno's passing range and his choice of pass are totally different (he's more ambitious but also lower percentage).
