First day of fire at Old Trafford where the revamped Manchester United of Ruben Amorim, coming from a disastrous championship, hosted the super Arsenal of Mikel Arteta, hunting for the coveted title.
The Manchester challenge ends 1-0 for Arsenal thanks to Riccardo Calafiori’s goal in the first half, able to find himself in the right place (on the goal line) to head and punish Bayindir’s empty exit, the preferred goalkeeper to Onana but with the same results as the former Inter.
It was the challenge of the debuts of Cunha and Mbeumo in the United and Gyokeres (terrible) in Arsenal.
Ruben Amorim, unfortunately for Manchester United fans, has entered the history of the Premier League for being the non-newly promoted team manager to reach 15 defeats in the league in the shortest time possible.
15 KO in 28 Premier League games: an embarrassing figure for the Portuguese coach.
Poor performance on his Premier League debut for Victor Gyokeres, ruthless bomber taken from Sporting Lisbon. His game, anonymous, lasted only 60 minutes and the stats are merciless for the Swede.
As highlighted by Opta, for Gyokeres 0 shots, 0 chances created and only 4 successful passes for his teammates. At 60′ Arteta decided to take him out to bring in Havertz, master of the role last year.
The anonymous performance has already triggered the first memes in England.
“Gyokeres touched his hair (28) more times than the ball (3) in the first half. In short, a debut to forget.
In the 13th minute, it was Riccardo Calafiori who opened the dances. Corner kick (the home specialty, as we will see) to return towards United’s goal.
The trajectory is insidious, but Bayindir, the goalkeeper chosen by Amorim instead of Onana, is disastrous.
Empty exit and goal from the line by Calafiori. Unprophetic words those of Amorim, who, justifying Onana’s absence, had clarified that Bayindir’s ownership was a technical choice.
Another goal from a set piece for Arsenal, which with Arteta has transformed this dynamic into an infallible weapon.
As reported by Opta, in fact, Arsenal have scored 31 goals from corners since the start of the 2023-2024 season. Liverpool, second in this ranking, is stuck at 20.
And when Arsenal’s opponent is Manchester United, the London defenders excel. As reported by Opta, three of Arsenal’s last four goals against United in the Premier League have been scored by defenders.
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