There are many problems with the personnel in Coach Ten Hag’s hands. Players who are physically strong are not smart enough, and smart players are extremely weak in competition. Christian Eriksen cannot make Ten Hag feel secure anymore.
This season, Ten Hag has always been confused in choosing a central midfielder. Limited connectivity, disrupting the ball supply from bottom to top, has harmed MU too many times. The fact that Bruno Fernandes – an attacking midfielder, has to constantly drop deep to play the ball, combined with the frequent presence of an 18-year-old young star like Kobbie Mainoo, speaks to the Red Devils’ current situation.
Talking about the ability to link lines, among MU midfielders, Eriksen is considered the best. But that was Eriksen at his peak. For now, to use the Danish midfielder, Ten Hag must take too many risks. Against Tottenham recently, as an example, Eriksen was chosen instead of Scott McTominay. Reason?
“Eriksen is a smart player,” Ten Hag shared before the match. “He can make a difference, see the direction of the ball and pass accurately. Eriksen has an ability that not many people have.”
With standard basic techniques, Eriksen is much more comfortable with the ball at his feet than McTominay. With Tottenham’s high defense, using a smart, sharp player who knows how to change positions well like Eriksen is a reasonable choice. The Eriksen-Mainoo-Bruno triangle theoretically supports each other very well.
But if Eriksen has the ball at an acceptable level, then when he doesn’t have the ball it’s a problem. Eriksen’s limited ability to move and compete makes MU’s midfield very thin. Look at Tottenham’s second goal. While Mainoo and Bruno rushed to the penalty area to join the defense, Eriksen was still trailing behind. When he arrived, he no longer had the strength to recognize Bentancur’s direction of movement and everyone knew the consequences.
Of course, the fault for this goal is not Eriksen’s alone, but this is just one of many times the Danish midfielder failed to support his teammates in the face-to-face attacks of the opponent. Many times, Mainoo was lost in the siege of Bentancur and Oliver Skipp.
Does Ten Hag know about Eriksen’s limitations? Of course! During MU’s training sessions, Eriksen demonstrated how Ten Hag clearly understood. But basically Ten Hag has no better choice. If you want to play in attack with Spurs, use Eriksen better than McTominay, while waiting for Mason Mount and Casemiro to return.
Eriksen is past his prime, combined with health problems that make him no longer mobile. In the midst of a squad that still lacks cohesion and has problems keeping its position like the current MU, Eriksen seems to be swimming in an endless space. Although Eriksen tried hard, it was not enough for fans to trust him.
On average per 90 minutes this season, Eriksen only has 1.38 tackles – the worst among MU midfielders. With 0.32 passes per 90 minutes, Eriksen is only better than Marcus Rashford. In addition, Eriksen’s average pass rate is 1.8 times/90 minutes – the second highest on the team. Most importantly, Eriksen only won 32% of duels.
Eriksen is truly an artist in the MU midfield. The problem is that MU lacks enough bodyguards to protect these talented legs and keeps throwing Eriksen into unequal confrontations. From a perfect player, Eriksen is now becoming a burden for the Red Devils.
