Bruno Fernandes scored the only goal in the match against Aston Villa, helping Man United continue to be steady in the race for the Premier League Top 4. Villans are not a simple opponent, especially in the recent short period of great form when being renewed under the hands of Unai Emery. Therefore, winning in the context of a devastated force is a very encouraging thing for Manchester United.
This was a match in which Ten Hag took both Antony and Anthony Martial off the bench, pushing Bruno to the right wing. This is not the first time Dutch strategist Bruno has played on the right, but with the Portuguese midfielder assigned the task of scoring, it seems that Ten Hag is right after a long period of hesitation.
Bruno's goal did not come from a "braved, woven" combination, nor did it come from a breathless pressing situation. However, it made Ten Hag realize that in the past, he had accidentally forgotten the one who was the team's main striker under Ole Solskjaer.
It was the 7th match of the season that Ten Hag is about to play Bruno as a right winger for Man United. In both matches against Aston Villa, Bruno played in this position. Ten Hag has realized that Bruno could be a new option to exploit the opponent's small gaps, instead of focusing on Marcus Rashford as before.
Bruno's goal against Villans clearly showed Ten Hag's intention to play was to exploit the opponent's weaknesses and not rely on home advantage to play directly. When Ten Hag pulled Rashford into the middle, support players like Bruno or Marcel Sabitzer often ran into gaps in the opponent's defense, not caring whether the ball would come or not, simply waiting for the whole defense block in front of them.
It was almost repeated continuously in the first 45 minutes against Aston Villa. Sometimes the way to find the weaknesses of the opponent's defense is quite simple and Ten Hag has done it proactively. He made the opponent no longer able to keep the original system, so the weaknesses would be exposed without having to suffer a headache to find them. Ten Hag has players who think quickly and are fast-paced like the Rashford - Bruno pair to immediately see, without having to point him first on the table before the match.
Previously, when using Bruno on the right wing, Ten Hag only had the task of sucking and putting the ball into the middle for the strikers to finish. Now, Bruno himself has to shoulder the responsibility of tearing the opponent's net. Each match is a lesson for Ten Hag and from the beginning of the season until now, successes have been more than failures after each such experiment.
This is also a necessity for Man United to refresh themselves ahead of the FA Cup final against Man City in early June.
