SIX things we learned from Manchester United's 4-2 defeat to Cadiz
Zidane Iqbal looks worth the hype, Charlie Savage has all the makings of a midfield metronome and Bruno Fernandes cannot return quick enough… SIX things we learned from Manchester United’s 4-2 friendly defeat by Cadiz
- Manchester United struggled to impress in their 4-2 friendly defeat to Cadiz
- Zidane Iqbal showed glimpses of brilliance defeat the loss to the LaLiga side
- Fellow youngster Charlie Savage came off the bench and excelled in midfield
- French striker Anthony Martial showed he can still lead the line when required
- Portugal star Bruno Fernandes’ absence was sorely missed in the final third
Manchester United may have struggled out in Andalusia on Wednesday night as Cadiz claimed a deserved 4-2 victory – but it was not all bad news for Erik ten Hag.
The Dutch manager will have known going in to the fixture that he would not be treated to a free-flowing display that he might expect from his regular starting line-up, with at least 10 starters still to return from the World Cup.
But despite the scoreline there were still some United players that caught the eye of Ten Hag, while others looked below-par.
Here Sportsmail takes a look at what we learned from United’s friendly defeat in Spain.
Erik ten Hag was unhappy with parts of the performance and the result in the loss to Cadiz
Manchester United’s Iraq international midfielder was a player on many supporters’ lips after some dazzling displays on the club’s pre-season tour over the summer, and he was a youngster that impressed on Wednesday night.
Zidan Iqbal was dynamic off the ball for United on Wednesday evening
Iqbal was dynamic off the ball and quick-witted on it. He drew both challenges and defenders throughout his first-half showing, and his fast feet earned United the penalty that allowed Anthony Martial the opening goal.
The 19-year-old was one of United’s more positive midfielders in a half of football that saw them dominate possession but struggle to make inroads, and his ability to come short for the ball in between the lines, before spinning in behind, was a key facet of his side’s progressive approach play.
He started alongside captain-for-the-night Scott McTominay in midfield for Erik ten Hag’s side and he looked a player that could match the Scotsman’s 188-game tally for the club in the near future.
Savage has the makings of a midfield metronome
For the majority of his Manchester United career, Charlie Savage will have been largely identified by fans as ‘Robbie’s son’, but he has started to carve out his own reputation for the club.
The youngster – like Iqbal – was constantly demanding the ball at the base of a second-half midfield, and he was quick to assume the vacant leader role that McTominay had left behind when he was hooked at the interval.
Everything United did in the second half came through him, and he controlled the pace and tempo of his side’s play throughout his 45-minute showing like a metronome, rarely failing to miss his beat and driving his side on in the face of an increasingly apparent defeat.
Yes, Savage was at fault for Cadiz’s fourth – his sloppy touch from Di’Shon Bernard’s squared pass allowed Tomas Alarcon a near open run at Martin Dubravka’s goal for his finish in the 77th minute – but it had little to no effect on the youngster.
For many 19-year-olds, such a mistake would occupy the forefront of their minds for the rest of the game and cause further errors to seep into their game. But Savage carried on with his head held high, which will have impressed Ten Hag more than his competent passing through the midfield.
Charlie Savage showed courage and confidence in controlling United’s midfield in the second half
3. Anthony Martial can lead the line when called upon
Despite four goals and two assists this season, the statistic that stands out for Martial is the fact that he’s only played seven games, as injury continues to ravage a promising young forward’s career at Old Trafford.
But at times on Wednesday evening in Andalusia, Martial showed that he still has all the qualities that a good centre-forward needs; he held the ball up well, played little passes in behind the lines for midfielders and wingers to run on to, and, perhaps most importantly, showed he still knows where the back of the goal is.
His finish was one of supreme composure and confidence, dinking the ball delicately down the middle of the goal after waiting for Jeremias Ledesma to dive to his right and watch as the ball agonisingly drifted into the open net to get his side back in the game before half-time.
Anthony Martial got the goal to prove he can still contribute to this Man United team
Martial is not Cristiano Ronaldo, and nor should the club rely on him to pick up the slack now that their forward ranks are thinning, but against Cadiz the Frenchman certainly stuck his hand up and made sure that Ten Hag knew he was still in the mix.
He might not be the 30-goal striker that United need to draw level with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City in the English football hierarchy, but he can definitely perform when required, and contribute 10-15 goals a season here and there in a wider team unit.
4. Bruno Fernandes cannot return quick enough
Ten Hag’s mind will surely only be focused on Holland’s clash with Argentina on Friday in Qatar, but the game he will swiftly turn his attention to will be Portugal’s quarterfinal with Morocco.
There was no expectation for any player to fill Bruno Fernandes’ boots on Wednesday evening, but it was painfully clear that he was exactly what was missing from a side woefully incapable of picking apart a low defensive block at times.
Fernandes brings composure, pinpoint passing and at times outrageous examples of the artist he is with the ball at his feet, and against Cadiz he would have had a field day playing balls in behind for the likes of Iqbal, Anthony Elanga, Alejandro Garnacho and even Martial in that first half.
Bruno Fernandes’ return cannot come quick enough for United who lacked control in the final third
So often United lacked that final cutting edge, the one pass that unpicks the lock and puts panic in the hearts of defenders, and it was all too easy for Cadiz to defend the poorly-weighted crosses and misplaced passes on the edge of the box that the Red Devils offered up instead.
Whether it be from dead-ball situations or in-game – Fernandes’ wily, canny passing play was dearly missed by Ten Hag and Co on Wednesday evening.
5. Martin Dubravka is not a good enough back-up
There was a period not too long ago when Martin Dubravka was talked about as one perhaps the leading goalkeeper outside of the top six in his Newcastle days.
But sadly those days seem to be behind the Slovakian shot-stopper, as he failed to stamp his authority against Cadiz, where a poor defensive unit was not enough to shield him from criticism after shipping four goals.
The defending was poor at times in Andalusia, there is no denying that, but Dubravka failed to bring his experience and know-how to the table to try and settle the nerves of youngsters Bernard and Teden Mengi who were up against one of Europe’s more experienced strikers in Alvaro Negredo.
Martin Dubravka struggled when called upon and failed to lend his experience to a young defence
The former Newcastle man had United fans’ hearts in their mouths when he jumped for a high ball and got it all wrong, with the ball slipping through his grasp and bouncing dangerously close to the onlooking Cadiz strikers before he remembered his lines and gathered it at the second attempt.
When a team concedes four, it is almost impossible to level the entirety of the blame at one component, but Dubravka was painfully unaware that he could have leant his experience and support to a defence that was clearly jittery from the get-go.
6. Victor Lindelof falls down the pecking order
Where Dubravka failed to put an arm around his young defenders, Victor Lindelof was just as culpable for not lending Mengi a hand or even acknowledging that he should perhaps have leant extra cover to a player he knew had little first-team experience.
What’s worse still, is the fact that his own shocking defending gave Cadiz their first goal, after the Swedish defender woefully mistimed his header inside his own six-yard box in the first eight minutes to allow Carlos Garcia-Die Sanchez to stoop low and open the scoring.
Victor Lindelof will perhaps fall down the defensive pecking order after a poor showing
Not only was he at fault for the first goal, but he was caught flat-footed in the box for the second – as well as being drawn way out of position to leave Anthony Lozano acres of room to finish low to Dubravka’s right just six minutes after his first blunder.
Ten Hag will have been impressed by his youngsters but dismayed at the likes of Dubravka and Lindelof
With Harry Maguire impressing for Gareth Southgate and England in Qatar, it is looking increasingly likely that Lindelof is slipping into the category of “emergency cover” if his performance on Wednesday night was anything to go by.
There is an argument that he performs better with a more experienced head beside him at the heart of defence, but that hardly belies a player at the top of their game, that they need someone to bail them out on occasions.
United will not be keen to spend big on another centre-back but in a game that he was given the opportunity to catch Ten Hag’s eye on Wednesday, he did just that. But perhaps not in the way he would have envisaged beforehand.
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