Andre Onana gifted the opener to Jayden Bogle pretty much against the run of play before Harry Maguire equalised right before half-time.

Ben Brereton Diaz once again put the Blades in front early in the second half forcing captain Bruno Fernandes to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

The Portuguese scored twice and registered an assist with Erik ten Hag’s side putting up a much more controlled display where the team tried to hold on to possession instead of relying on counter-attacks.

New style

Whether this approach was instigated by new technical director Jason Wilcox’s instructions remain unclear but with 19th-placed Burnley set for a visit to Old Trafford next, this approach is expected to continue.

Against the Blades, Christian Eriksen made a rare start, only his second in 2024, which enabled the team to retain hold of the ball better and once again, the onus will fall on the midfield to dictate the tempo against Vincent Kompany’s team.

And the Dutchman revealed that his midfield reserves will be strengthened as Mason Mount could be fit to play after he missed out against Coventry City and Sheffield United.

The new-look backline of Casemiro and Harry Maguire is expected to continue despite conceding five goals against lowly opposition as none of the sidelined defenders are expected to be back in contention.

“For coming back for the game against Burnley, I don’t expect them (the defenders). Mason Mount, he will return, I think,” Ten Hag told BBC’s Match of the Day.

Mount could be back

For the former Chelsea star, his debut campaign in red has been nothing short of disastrous, with the player missing 28 games through three separate injury spells.

It was thought that the United No 7 would bounce back and silence his critics after his first goal for the club against Brentford but he promptly got injured again.

It would be good for Mount’s confidence if he can get on the ball a bit more in this new style against the Clarets, a team which is low on confidence.

With big games against Newcastle, Arsenal and Brighton coming up in the league ahead of the FA Cup final against Manchester City, Ten Hag will be hoping his summer signing can avoid another injury setback while also gaining in confidence so that he can prove why the club shelled out £55 million for his services.

Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.

The post Erik ten Hag provides injury update regarding Mason Mount appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.

Erik ten Hag named an unchanged starting XI from the one that held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw a week ago. Andre Onana started in goal with a defensive four of Diogo Dalot, Willy Kambwala, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka ahead of him.

Casemiro, Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes were deployed in the middle of the park. Rasmus Hojlund led the line with Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford on either side of him. Here are three things we learned from Manchester United’s 2-2 draw against Bournemouth.

Shambolic defending from United

United headed into the break a goal down and with the score at 2-1 in the Cherries favour. In truth, the Red Devils were lucky to still have been in the game considering the sheer amount of clear-cut chances that Bournemouth failed to convert.

Bournemouth registered 12 shots at Onana’s goal and most of them were excellent goalscoring opportunities. It seemed that every time they went forward and attacked United, they found it very easy to cut through the backline and test Onana.

Indeed, both goals scored by Andoni Iraola’s men came about as a result of some pitiful defending from United. Dominic Solanke shed first blood just 16 minutes into proceedings when he capitalised on a number of mistakes from United.

Garnacho casually lost the ball and failed to get back to provide defensive cover. The ball found its way to Solanke, who only had Kambwala. The centre-back lost his footing, giving Solanke the space and time to pick his spot. The England striker made no mistake as he fired the ball into the back of the net for his 17th goal of the Premier League season.

United fought back and against the run of play, restored parity via Fernandes who volleyed his effort past the reach of Neto.

However, as has been the case for large parts of the campaign, Ten Hag’s side couldn’t build on the momentum and conceded soon after – this time five minutes after grabbing the equaliser. Bournemouth produced two line-breaking passes in midfield as they took advantage of just how sluggish United were in closing down the spaces. An unmarked Justin Kluivert found himself inside the box with amateurish space. The 24-year-old squeezed his shot into the bottom-left corner. Onana should have arguably done better and should have certainly not been beaten at his near post.

The most shocking thing about Bournemouth’s second goal and how it came to be is that the Cherries didn’t really have to break a sweat to get in. Even Kluivert himself would have been confused with just how much space and time they left him to work with.

Beyond the Reds’ poor defending, they just seemed lethargic and bereft of any ideas. The players were unable to keep hold of the ball and sustain meaningful spells of pressure and possession that would have given Bournemouth one or two issues to think about.

Going forward, United looked bereft of any ideas and any little attacking impetus seemed rushed and speculative at best. In conclusion, it was the typical performance fans grown accustomed to under Ten Hag this season.

Garnacho and Mainoo burnout concerns

Another theme that was noticeable in the match vs. Bournemouth was just how tired Garnacho and Mainoo seemed. This has been the case for some time now and it reared its ugly head once again.

Garnacho and Mainoo have this season taken massive strides in their respective United careers and have quickly become two of Ten Hag’s trusted lieutenants. Garnacho in particular has started more than 30 consecutive games for the 20-time English champions across all competitions. Mainoo on the other hand made his 24th appearance across all competitions. Since he came back into the team late last year, he has been an almost guaranteed presence in the manager’s starting XI selections.

The academy duo was not at their sensational best at the Vitality Stadium and considering the minutes they’ve been racking up in recent weeks, it’s not very surprising that fatigue and burnout seem to have caught up with them.

On more than one occasion, Mainoo was caught in possession as he held on to the ball for one or two seconds longer – very uncharacteristic of him to say the least. Not to say that the 18-year-old was poor but he wasn’t as sharp as he usually is. Mainoo still did well and outshone most of his senior and more experienced teammates. In fact, he’s the one who won a penalty just after the hour mark that drew United level. Mainoo’s shot took a deflection and hit Adam Smith’s hand, giving the referee no choice but to award a penalty. Fernandes scored from the ensuing spot-kick.

Garnacho on the other hand appeared to be finding it difficult to execute his defensive responsibilities. One thing that cannot be questioned about the Argentine is his work rate but against Bournemouth, he lacked the edge and tenacity that usually highlight his play. Garnacho was taken off at half-time and replaced by Amad Diallo who took his position on the right wing.

It’s important to note that both Garnacho and Mainoo are still teenagers and while their talent is undeniable, their workload must be carefully managed to keep them continuously fresh and fit.

Amad and Mason Mount deserve a bigger role in the team

Amad played the second period of the game following Garnacho’s substitution and during the time he was on the pitch, the Ivorian was good and showed the kind of impact he can have if afforded more minutes.

The winger was very neat and tidy on the ball and gave United some much-needed composure in the final third.

His passing was measured and accurate. Often, United have been slammed for being too frantic in their actions but Amad was the polar opposite to this. When required, he slowed the game down and helped knit the attack together.

Before the Bournemouth game, the 21-year-old only had 46 minutes of top-flight action to his name this season. It’s scandalous that he hasn’t been used more this term considering his valuable skill set and what he brings to the side.

Another player whose situation closely mirrors Amad’s is Mason Mount. The English midfielder came on in the 78th minute for Mainoo – a surprise personnel change considering Casemiro was yet again United’s poorest player on the pitch and it would have Ten Hag would have been best served by doing away with the Brazilian.

Mount was Ten Hag’s marquee summer signing but he has been used very sparingly when available although admittedly, his maiden season at Old Trafford has been disrupted by injuries.

In recent games when he has been thrust into the action, Mount has been a breath of fresh air. It’s puzzling that he’s not playing more during a period in which Casemiro continues to be a liability for United in midfield.

Both he and Amad need more chances if United are to finish the season strong and hold off their rapidly approaching rivals.

Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.

The post Three things we learned as Man United are held to frustrating 2-2 draw by Bournemouth appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.

Chelsea welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge to kick off a crucial month of April football in the Premier League and FA Cup.

The Red Devils’ Champions League hopes seemed in tatters after a devastating last minute goal was conceded at Brentford to surrender a lead. However, with Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa both dropping points during the week, perhaps the door to qualification has been left a little ajar for United.

Tonight’s game will be the 195th meeting between the two with the Old Trafford side winning 83 to Chelsea’s 56.

Erik ten Hag’s men enter the matchup in sixth place looking to close the gap to the probable lucrative top five for Champions League football while the west Londoners sit in 12th place, looking to earn the three points that would return them to the top half of the table.

Here are three storylines that the travelling support will be excitedly discussing in anticipation of tonight’s match.

1. Can Mason Mount build on his last minute goal at the weekend?

It is fair to say the Chelsea academy product has had a season to forget so far in his debut campaign at Old Trafford.

Signed for a potential £60m in the summer, injury has wrecked his intention of starting off strongly for his new side. In fact, he has only been able to participate in 14 matches all season as we begin April. This has prompted some fans to joke that they have “forgotten” that he even plays for the club.

However, if one club know Mount’s potential it is Chelsea. He provided the assist in Chelsea’s Champions League winning goal against Manchester City in 2021 and he won his former side’s player of the year award in 2021 and 2022.

He will be desperate to show off his talents, however in his pre-match press conference, the manager stated that the club must be careful to ease Mount back into regular minutes, so it seems he may have to make do with another place on the bench.

2. United aim to complete only their second double over Chelsea in Premier League era

If one team has consistently been a problem for United over the entire Premier League era, it has been Chelsea.

Even before the riches of Roman Abramovich arrived to West London, the blues have been a thorn in the side of the Red Devils.

This doesn’t seem so true at the moment as they are currently on their worst streak against United in the Premier League era without a win in 12 league matches against United. However, according to the BBC, Man United have only done the double over Chelsea once in the Premier League era and that was under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2019-2020.

The Mancunian side have already completed one half of the task this year with a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford in December, courtesy of two goals by Scott McTominay.

Nonetheless, winning at Stamford Bridge will be a more sizeable task as, despite the Londoners wretched league position, they have only been beaten once in their last 15 home games in all competitions.

3. The match will likely be a goal fest

One aspect that has characterized the last two meetings between the two sides has been the absolutely chaotic football on display.

Last May when United secured Champions League football in a 4-1 win over tonight’s opponents, both teams shared 32 shots. In December’s win, both sides combined for 41 attempts.

March saw United’s defence at its most exposed. It has already been relayed by The Peoples Person that Andre Onana has faced the third most shots this season in the division and scarily in 2024, no team has given up more chances.

Last month in only four matches, United allowed Manchester City, Everton, Liverpool and Brentford to have a combined 106 shots on their goal. However, for their part, Chelsea are also incredibly switched off at the back and United’s transition style seems to actually work well against them.

They have already conceded 47 league goals, which is the same amount that they let in during the entirety of last season and they still have ten matches left to play. Basically, both teams could write a textbook on how not to defend at the current moment in time – an appetising prospect for the neutral, but not necessarily the Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge faithful.

Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.

The post Three plotlines to digest before Manchester United take on Chelsea appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.

When Manchester United decided to splash potentially up to £60m on Mason Mount last summer, many fans queried the logic behind Erik ten Hag’s decision.

This was due to attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes being captain and his place seemingly being set in stone in the team.

Fast forward nine months and many supporters are still scratching their head, yet the Englishman can take little blame so far.

Mount has only managed 14 games for the Red Devils and was caught up in the manager’s rather confusing decision to give a jolt to the team’s playing style and turn them into the “best transition team” in the world, in Erik ten Hag’s own words.

A swift glance at the league table would suggest this idea has not really borne fruit as the Red Devils languish in sixth place.

Mount can have little blame despite only notching one assist this season, with his injury keeping him out for more than three months, but as a result, he still has no clear place in the team.

In fact according to ESPN, it has become somewhat of a running joke online that fans had “forgotten he played for United”.

These barbs have hurt Mount according to sources as the player has had difficulty adapting to life at Old Trafford.

The cruel injury blows have been so hard to take as he “had been so desperate to make a good first impression at his new club”.

His attitude however deserves praise as ESPN detailed below.

“He’s often seen stopping his car for autograph hunters as he leaves United’s Carrington training ground and, according to one source, raised £20,000 for charity earlier in the season by auctioning off a mascot experience, including the chance to walk out with him before a game at Old Trafford.”

Mount found it challenging to leave Chelsea, the team he had been with since he was six years old. He was disappointed in the characterisation that his move was about money when it has been well reported that the Chelsea board decided to sell him without his consent.

“With Mount’s departure from Chelsea still raw, sources say he has purposely done almost no interviews. There is, however, an acceptance that he’ll have to address the move at some point soon, if only to ensure that supporters understand his side of the story.”

It would have been easy to sit and wallow in the face of the cruel hand he has been dealt, but Mount has left a strong impression on Erik ten Hag and his staff during his challenging time on the sidelines. They have been particularly satisfied with his will to return to first team action as soon as possible.

This was seen when the England international was thrown right back into the squad to play Liverpool and despite an agreement that he wouldn’t play, he came on for the last 15 minutes of extra time to inject the middle of the park with some much needed energy.

ESPN explain that sources have told them, “Mount asked to be part of team meetings that he wasn’t required to attend in an effort to make sure he was up to speed with Ten Hag’s instructions and ready to return as soon as possible. It meant long days at Carrington and, according to sources, there were many occasions when he was the last player to leave.”

“Being on a different training and rehabilitation schedule than his teammates has often made his first year at United a lonely experience” and many of his close family have paid him regular visits to keep his morale up.

However, there may yet be light at the end of the tunnel, as the 25-year-old scored what looked to be a late winner versus Brentford with an expertly taken finish and produced his first memorable moment in a United shirt.

In addition, with an FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City coming up later this month and Tottenham Hotspur dropping points away to West Ham United yesterday, there is still much to fight for in this campaign.

In other words, Mount can still play a massive part in the concluding chapters of this season’s story.

As fate would have it, the former Chelsea graduate could be potentially involved in his first start since the injury at his former home at Stamford Bridge tomorrow night. This would be his first start since November.

A positive showing there and throughout the spring could help guide United to an FA Cup and Champions League football and on a personal level, could even help him sneak into Gareth Southgate’s final England squad for the Euros this summer.

Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.

The post Mason Mount’s long road to fitness laid bare appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.

United were very poor for large parts of the game and were thoroughly outdone by Thomas Frank’s men, who seemed hungrier and more determined to get a result.

With the score still at 0-0, Erik ten Hag brought on Mason Mount and Casemiro in place of Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo to try and make a difference.

United thought they had completed an incredible smash-and-grab when Mount found the back of the net in the 96th minute.

It was Mount’s first goal for the club following his arrival from Premier League rivals Chelsea last summer.

However, the Red Devils were hit back soon after when Kristoffer Ajer restored parity in the 99th minute to ensure the spoils were shared between the two teams.

After the final whistle, Ten Hag admitted that United were lucky to even escape with a point. The Dutchman also called out his players for being outdone by the Bees.

Mount spoke to Sky Sports and echoed Ten Hag’s sentiments that the standards were not up to the level at the Gtech Community Stadium

The midfielder said, “When you go 1-0 up right at the end, you want to try and hang onto that.”

“If you look at the game overall it wasn’t to our standard. We know that. When you score at the death you think you can maybe hang on. But maybe we didn’t deserve it.”

“Brentford make it difficult. It is never easy coming here. They make it tough and get around you. Maybe we didn’t get it going from the beginning.”

“We know we can improve, and we need to because we need to win games. We will improve, we will work hard. These are the games you want to win. We need to step up, and that is what we will focus on.”

Mount also confessed that United will now find it very difficult to attain a top-four finish and qualify for the Champions League.

“It is a tough one now, but all we can do is focus on ourselves. We know what we need to do.”

Up next for Mount is a visit to his former club Chelsea on Thursday.

Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.

The post Mason Mount acknowledges underperforming Man United didn’t deserve a win vs. Brentford appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.

United were dominated and were very poor across the 90 minutes including additional time. The Red Devils thought they had completed an incredible smash-and-grab when substitute Mason Mount found the back of the net in the 96th minute.

However, United were hit back just three minutes later when Thomas Frank’s men scored at the death.

Pitiful defending from United allowed Ivan Toney to produce a cut-back which found Kristoffer Ajer unmarked inside the box. The Brentford star made no mistake from close range as he restored parity and ensured the spoils were shared.

United had 53% possession to Brentford’s 47% share of the ball.

The 20-time English champions managed just five shots from the 11 total cracks at goal. In comparison, their opponents registered 31 shots. Five of these required Andre Onana to swing into action.

United put together 445 passes with a success rate of 80%.

The Bees strung 378 passes with a completion rate of 69%.

One of United’s poorest performers at the Gtech Community Stadium was Scott McTominay, who ghosted almost entirely in midfield.

He started in a midfield trio also consisting of Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes.

This term, McTominay has been criticised for his little input in the middle of the park despite his heroics going forward and in front of goal.

While he can chip in with the odd goal every now and then, it has been suggested that McTominay’s presence in the team is overall a net detriment to United as he offers little both on and off the ball.

At times, McTominay fading left Mainoo exposed, outnumbered and with large tracts of space to defend.

The Scotland international surprisingly played every minute of action against Brentford. He had 52 touches of the ball to his name.

He successfully delivered 23 of the 33 passes he attempted to find his teammates with, managing a pass accuracy of 70%.

The 27-year-old failed to deliver even one key pass or cross.

McTominay tried to ping two long balls. He found his intended target on just one occasion. The single shot McTominay registered was off-target and hardly threatened Flekken’s goal.

The United star embarked on one dribble but didn’t complete it.

He delved into four ground duels and came out on top once. He was also required to contest nine aerial challenges. He won five of these.

McTominay lost possession 14 times. He made five clearances. The player blocked one shot and made as many tackles. He was also dribbled past once.

(Stats obtained from Sofascore)

Going forward, it’s imperative United either find a way to accommodate McTominay and mask his weaknesses or completely relegate him from being a guaranteed starter.

Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.

The post Scott McTominay fades in midfield as Brentford overwhelm Man United in 1-1 stalemate appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.