Fitting in Bruno and Pogba isn’t the question. It’s how to create a playing template that utilizes both

Prior to football’s return, the hype surrounding a Manchester United midfield consisting of Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes was slowly erupting in the Manchester United Twittersphere.

United’s current situation in the football Elo and their current standing in the Premier League table naturally coincides with their fans desperate need for a change. Something to look forward to come Saturday — or in the current terms, any day of the week.

Performances have been inconsistent for a while, most noticeably beating teams who offer them space such as the win away to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. While failing to capitalize against sides who sit deep.

Pogba’s slice of drama that comes with his footballing package, in addition to his injuries and inconsistency dropped him out of favor in the eyes of some Manchester United fans. A new hero was in place.

Bruno’s arrival in late January pumped steroids in the Manchester United system. Since then, United haven’t lost a league game. What Bruno offers is probably known to everyone. The million dollar question was how he and Pogba will fit in.

The technical qualities of both Pogba and Bruno are unquestionably at the highest level. Whether in a 4–3–3 or a 4–2–3–1, United will benefit massively from their creativity and technique.

Leaving defensive issues aside, the main issue facing United this season was in breaking deep oppositions.

The problem was that United’s attacks would often start from the full back after the center-backs have circulated the ball between them. This was mainly because there was little to no passing angles for the center backs. Nor passing options that would allow vertical ball progression up the field

And once the ball is moved wide, it’s easier to press Manchester United near the touchline because on the wings you only have a 180 degree availability of the field to pass to. United’s full backs would either re-circulate the ball backwards or play the ball to their wingers in an uncomfortable situation.

They have tried multiple approaches but none seem to click. One was away to Burnley where United used a three-man build up to have better passing angles in the first phase of the attack.

It was effective as the wideness of the center-backs not only gave them good passing angles. It also attracted pressure from Burnley’s wide midfielders, thus freeing United’s full backs.

This was pre-Bruno era and the player playing as the number 10 on that day was Andreas Pereira, who was then replaced by Jesse Lingard. Despite their off the ball movements, both aren’t on par with Bruno’s quality on the ball.

Even then United had a good idea of how to break the opposition by using a three man build up. However, they didn’t have the player to capitalize on this once the opponent's block was penetrated. It was a blueprint that they would build on six months after.

Fast forward to United’s first game after project restart and the Pogba-Bruno duo is in place in the 2nd half against Tottenham Hotspur. Down 1–0, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer introduced Nemanja Matic instead of Victor Lindelof.

United’s three man build up was in place. Normally the wide center back would have the better passing angles, but here the Tottenham players were overloading the near side of the pitch.

When the ball was circulated towards Matic, Gedson Fernandes had a dilemma. He could block the central passing lane, but that would mean that Scott McTominay can progress freely from the right channel. Or maintain a position nearer to McTominay and leave the central space free.

He chose the latter and Matic progressed through the gap. Tottenham’s concerns of a penetrating ball into United’s forwards made them leave Aaron Wan-Bissaka completely free on the far side. Pogba’s position also forced Heung-Min Son to be narrow and the leave the wide space free. Matic found a passing angle into Wan-Bissaka and United progressed. This was the origin of United’s penalty through which they equalized.

In a later instance in the game, Harry Maguire’s wide positioning freed Luke Shaw out wide as Giovani Lo Celso is protecting the channel in case Maguire advanced. Maguire had another option here, which is a pass into Bruno. The angle was tight but contrary to Pereira and Lingard, Bruno knows how to position himself to provide a passing angle for United’s 3 man build up.

Against Sheffield United, it was the much anticipated Bruno-Pogba midfield. But what was also as effective was United’s insistence on using a three man build up with Matic or Pogba dropping to complete it. The three man build up not only provides the wide center backs with good passing angles but it also frees the full backs by attracting the opposition’s wide players who want to protect the channel.

Maguire’s slight advancement freed Shaw from John Lundstram’s harrying. This gave time for Shaw to see his options and inside the field he had two penetrative options in Anthony Martial and Bruno.

A carbon-copy of the previous situation could be seen here. Lys Mousset is far as Maguire is starting the attack in the left channel. Lundstram is keen to protect the channel, thus leaving the wide area free.

United don’t want to use the wide areas in the next phase of the attack, they are only leveraging it to find the passing angle into Bruno behind Sheffield United’s midfield. Rashford easily played the ball to Bruno, penetrating the Sheffield United block.

The issue against Burnley was that United didn’t have the quality at the number 10 position, but after acquiring Bruno the penetrative pass from the wide center-backs could be built on. The wide positioning of the center-backs in a three man build up gave them the passing angle to play that penetrative pass.

Bruno was always popping up to complement the three man build up with good positioning to improve their passing angles. He’s out of this picture but what’s important here is David McGoldrick and Mousset’s reluctance to close down on Matic for the sake of not allowing Lindelof and Maguire 100% freedom.

The consequence was that Matic found the passing angle towards who else but Bruno who dropped to receive the ball. Sheffield United’s block was penetrated with a single pass from the three man build up.

The icing on the cake was United’s third. A neat passing combination between Marcus Rashford, Martial and Bruno ended with a delicate chip over Simon Moore. Prior to the goal and in the build up to it, Pogba dropped to the right channel as Maguire went wide to the left channel. Maintaining the three man build up.

Ball circulation between the three moved Sheffield United’s forwards around and the concept of the three man build up provided Pogba with a passing angle into Bruno Fernandes. The rest was pure art.

Manchester United’s squad isn’t the weakest going forward. Their problems against deep oppositions were in terms of penetration and how to utilize their resources correctly. The arrival of Bruno and the three-man build up could be the template through which they improve.

The remaining seven league games for Manchester United read as follows; Brighton, Bournemouth, Villa, Southampton, Palace, West Ham and Leicester. Apart from Leicester they all will probably sit deep. That will be the acid test for United’s three man build up.

Bruno and Pogba are every team’s dream but it’s not as simple as deciding whether they will work in a 4–3–3 or a 4–2–3–1. You need the playing template to get the best out of the two.

The three-man build up might be that.