The Spaniard earned a much deserved rest after his recent exploits, as Solskjaer opted to keep his midfield dynamo on the bench. Andreas Pereira was drafted in to partner Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic in the middle, but the Brazilian looked inappropriate for the role selected for him.
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Whenever Pereira had time on the ball and was asked to pick out a pass, he was fabulous, however, his off the ball work and pressing were extremely poor. From the start of the game, United missed Herrera's infectious energy, his bite in the middle and his planning and awareness on the pitch.
Even though Pogba was fabulous on the night, there were instances where he looked isolated. Matic was overworked in the middle in the first half and had to bear the bulk of the defensive burden. It is clear that both the Serbian and the Frenchman thrive alongside Ander Herrera. It seemed like those two relished the presence of the Spaniard.
Ander Herrera is the heart of this United machine and Solskjaer will be desperate for Sunday so that he can reinstate his midfield general in the team.
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About the author
Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.
Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.
Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.
Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.
Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.
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