Taking a largely philosophical tone after Manchester United’s first pre-season friendly of the summer, head coach Ruben Amorim highlighted the lack of fluency between debutant Matheus Cunha and club captain Bruno Fernandes as an area of improvement for the squad going forward.
Cunha made his first unofficial debut for the club against Leeds United on Saturday following the completion of his £62.5 million ($83.8 million) transfer from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Much like the vast majority of his undercooked new teammates, Cunha struggled to find a spark in a drab 0–0 draw. During his 45 minutes on the pitch, the Brazil international failed to take a single shot or create an opening.
The relationship—or lack thereof—with fellow attacking midfielder Fernandes was something which Amorim touched upon after the match. “Of course, you can see that the connection between him and Bruno is still not there,” United’s Portuguese boss told MUTV. “But it is going to be a good connection because you can put a player like Kobbie Mainoo there or Mason Mount there. So we have to increase our quality in the final third.”
“We need to create that bond between everybody [on the United States tour]— not just between the players but the staff,” Amorim continued. “All the changes are stopping. We need to leave that as a group. We have a lot to improve, the speed of the game, all of the details. We need to improve.”
Looking deeper down the pitch than Cunha, Amorim fretted: “We have a lack of pace. Especially in the middle of the park, you can feel it’s hard to bring the ball. We created chances. We have a lot to do but it was a first test against a Premier League team with two different teams, a good test.”
Diego León, the only player other than Cunha to arrive at Old Trafford for a transfer fee so far this summer, also made his first outing in club colours. The teenager from Cerro Porteño caught the eye with an energetic display against Leeds.
“We have to understand that the kid came from Paraguay and it’s the first week, the second week in Manchester United,” Amorim warned. “He did really well, he’s learning things, he’s powerful. He’s going to be a very good player.”
Cunha will likely have the chance to impress again next week as United jet off for the Premier League Summer Series against West Ham United, Bournemouth and Everton. Rather than his linkup with Fernandes, Cunha could also be judged upon his combination play with impending arrival Bryan Mbeumo.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Still Not There’—Ruben Amorim Challenges Matheus Cunha to Improve After Man Utd Debut.
