[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Fantastic tonight and it's no coincidence how much control we had with him playing as a more tempo setting 8 than just punting and gunslinging in his normal style.

Which is almost more annoying to me is that he CAN play like this when it's required. MOTM probably

 

[bosnian_red]

Very good game and played deep! Good to see. I really don't mind him playing deep. Though still he's susceptible to the odd brain fart from deep, but only 1 or 2 today so no problem

 

[Sylar]

Impressive very deep, good passing and was keeping the ball well. Very impressive when we did triangle passing first pass too to get out of tricky situations.

Him lashing that shot made me laugh when we were being patient but he was overall really good

 

[justboy68]

This is how he should play more often. More patient. Very good tonight.

 

[CloneMC16]

That is the Bruno I want to see. Impressive performance.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

More of this, please.

 

[Idxomer]

He did the Eriksen role very well and the yellow card was laughable.

 

[edgecutter]

The number of minutes this guy has played this season, he's an absolute machine

 

[Cutch]

Looked press resistant tonight for a change. Wasn't kicking the ball away every time under pressure but was calmly picking out options. I would be a critic of his but really pleased with him tonight

 

[The United]

So again, where are those people who said he could not control the game and got moved to the wings due to that?

I mean why move the guy who is careless (according to some and should be rid of) to the deeper position?

 

[Rustyspider13]

Did well tonight. Needs to keep his cool like this for the remainder of the season. The fact that he can slow it down when required makes it frustrating when he doesn't.

 

[Mickeza]

Did well tonight. Needs to keep his cool like this for the remainder of the season. The fact that he can slow it down when required makes it frustrating when he doesn't.

He was very good but taking that quick freekick at the end was a truly incredible decision

 

[Godfather]

Better in that deeper role when he stays calm on the ball

 

[Adnan]

Very good performance by him where he took on the responsibility in the absence of Eriksen and Casemiro and helped in the build up phase. He's a player who takes the initiative and takes on the responsibility and plays with courage, even if I am critical from time to time.

 

[zaafi]

So again, where are those people who said he could not control the game and got moved to the wings due to that?

I mean why move the guy who is careless (according to some and should be rid of) to the deeper position?

He had a great game, but let's not get carried away here. He didn't control the game. He kept it mostly safe (which was good), analysed the pitch before executing passes which is a huge contrast to his usual instinct passes. I've never seen him play like this but hopefully he can keep doing it.
You're making him sound like he had a Modric performance ffs

 

[sullydnl]

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Best player on the pitch by a country mile. Controlled the game from start to finish. Masterclass!

 

[The United]

He had a great game, but let's not get carried away here. He didn't control the game. He kept it mostly safe (which was good), analysed the pitch before executing passes which is a huge contrast to his usual instinct passes. I've never seen him play like this but hopefully he can keep doing it.
You're making him sound like he had a Modric performance ffs

No one is carried away, and I have yet to say he had a Modric's performance.

Just questioning some people's wisdom that he is the one who is causing all the chaos yet he was played in the deep. Nothing is in contrast to his instinct. He is not a good DM or even a deep CM, but he knows how to play there, and his usual style of play at No. 10 is most likely approved by his managers. It is not because he is too thick to understand what ball possession means.

 

[NZT-One]

Hi feck up late in the game could have cost us the game but apart from that he was good tonight. I knew he has that role in him, but the jury is still out if he can add that to his arsenal or not. Because it certainly isn't working along with his instincts. Brentford had a go at us, lets not ignore that and that they offered a lot of room to play into. We know he can do that.

 

[city-puma]

Except goalkeeper and defender, he probably has played every position for us. Glad to see him being mostly patient today.

 

[BlahRules]

Bruno needs to watch some games Scholes and Xavi played and he will know that he needs to use his neck muscle more often. I don't know why he won't look around before passing the ball. The number of times he misplaced a pass because he is trying to a no-look pass was annoying.

 

[Ole'sattheWheel]

Please more of this bruno

 

[The United]

Bruno needs to watch some games Scholes and Xavi played and he will know that he needs to use his neck muscle more often. I don't know why he won't look around before passing the ball. The number of times he misplaced a pass because he is trying to a no-look pass was annoying.

Yup, Scholes and Xavi never missed a pass due to their habit of looking around before passing the ball and their strong neck muscles.

 

[The United]

Also, some nonsense with how we can't play 4 - 3 - 3 flat due to Bruno. ETH probably (so far) does not want to play that way, and he seems to want one of them to mark their DM or deep CM. Asking Bruno to do that while creating at the same time seemed like a bit too much, which is why I think he has been shifting him around to give him more freedom, especially when Erikson is not playing.

 

[RedSky]

The number of minutes this guy has played this season, he's an absolute machine

Forget this season. Combine the last three seasons of minutes and he has played the most mins in all comps in the league. Bruno and Kane have played an unbelievable amount of minutes in the last three seasons. It's insane.

 

[Pat Cat]

Fantastic tonight and it's no coincidence how much control we had with him playing as a more tempo setting 8 than just punting and gunslinging in his normal style.

Which is almost more annoying to me is that he CAN play like this when it's required. MOTM probably

He was only able to play like this because Brentford, surprisingly, didn't really press us and just sat off. Bruno's issues come to the fore when he's pressed like Newcastle did

 

[KikiDaKats]

Surprised myself thinking this, it was a captain’s performance. Nothing to critic on the first half display.
The second half they seemed to match us but he kept his calm and did not revert to type. A captain display.

 

[Strelok]

I've never seen him play like this but hopefully he can keep doing it.

You didn't watch the match against Spurs I guess.

Imo Bruno simply does what ETH asking from him.

Yesterday he was taking basically no risk, just safe passes to retain possession or to progress the ball. But with our wingers offering no penetration and both McT and Sabitzer couldn't create we simply didn't create anything good enough to score despite having like 7x % possession in the first half. I was watching and wondering how the feck we would score. They forced us to go wide or shoot from distance we got a lot of corner kicks but they're simply much better in the air. We scored from our only shot on target the whole half if my memory serves me right.

Imo it's quite a dilemma for ETH in the last matches. If he allows Bruno to take risks he would lose the ball. If he doesn't and ask Bruno to play safe we'd barely create anything. Hope when Case and Eriksen are back things can improve and Bruno could return to what he does best. Create and score.

 

[tenpoless]

Still hasn't taken any rest since before International break btw. I feel tired just from watching him play.

 

[KikiDaKats]

Basically Ten Hags agrees with the so-called Haters. Who would have thought playing for control instead of being the hero is classed a brilliant performance by our Manager.

 

[CG1010]

Didn't see the match, came in to check how Bruno did as a CM. Seems he was quite good. however my concern is he seems to do well/not well depending on how the team is doing overall. He needs to consistently become good at the CM role because unlike the AM role, you can't get away with big ups and downs.

If Ten Hag manages to transform him into a world class CM then it might be seen as a masterstroke by him as there are so few great ball playing creative midfielders in the world and every great team in the past has had one. But long way to go to for now.

 

[Ole90+3]

He’s fantastic. The only reason we controlled the game last night was because his ability to transition the play from a deeper position. One of the few players able to receive the ball on the half turn and play direct passes to progress into attack.

I love him

 

[Borys]

So again, where are those people who said he could not control the game and got moved to the wings due to that?

I mean why move the guy who is careless (according to some and should be rid of) to the deeper position?

Bruno had a good performance, but we controlled the game because Brentford were happy to stay deep and they didn't really press us in organized way.
Again, I don't want to take credit from Bruno, but this was an easy game and we really didn't play that good. He got the basics right (and wasn't careless) but nothing that would make me think "let's play him deep from now on". Eriksen in CM is a level above and even he isn't a natural deep midfielder.

He can be the 3rd midfielder but in any "normal" circumstances (when we don't have to pretend one of McTominay or Sabitzer is a DM) he should always play the most advanced role.

BTW Bruno probably had better performances on the right wing anyway.

 

[FrankDrebin]

He goes from the sublime to the ridiculous .

How he managed to ping that pass to Rashford, under pressure, from our own corner flag and on his weaker foot left me in awe. Then he gives away a 5 yard pass.

I thought he was good last night though.

 

[Oranges038]

Thought he was good, bit erratic at times but overall he played well, probably helped that Brentford just dropped back behind the ball all night until the last few minutes.

 

[kafta]

Very good last night. His passing style means he could lose a ball or two, and when in deeper areas that could lead to bad situations. But overall, he controlled the tempo and deserved the man of the match.

He's an insane athlete though, 90 minutes week in week out, never stops pressing and never rests.

 

[DON’T PANIC ™]

He goes from the sublime to the ridiculous .

How he managed to ping that pass to Rashford, under pressure, from our own corner flag and on his weaker foot left me in awe. Then he gives away a 5 yard pass.

I thought he was good last night though.

I agree. His game varies from a world class pass one minute creating attacks to a calamitous error leading to opposition attacks on the break the next. I'm generally all for him being in the team but he really could do with cutting the casual mistakes out of his play. If he's trying to thread a forward pass to an advancing team mate and it doesn't come off, that's fair enough, but when he plays a sideways pass directly to an opponent in the centre circle or in Utd's half it's annoying to say the least.

 

[zaafi]

You didn't watch the match against Spurs I guess.

Imo Bruno simply does what ETH asking from him.

Yesterday he was taking basically no risk, just safe passes to retain possession or to progress the ball. But with our wingers offering no penetration and both McT and Sabitzer couldn't create we simply didn't create anything good enough to score despite having like 7x % possession in the first half. I was watching and wondering how the feck we would score. They forced us to go wide or shoot from distance we got a lot of corner kicks but they're simply much better in the air. We scored from our only shot on target the whole half if my memory serves me right.

Imo it's quite a dilemma for ETH in the last matches. If he allows Bruno to take risks he would lose the ball. If he doesn't and ask Bruno to play safe we'd barely create anything. Hope when Case and Eriksen are back things can improve and Bruno could return to what he does best. Create and score.

Is that the game where he created like 9 chances or something? If it was, that was an absolute world class performance, but a different one from yesterday. He still had his natural chaotic style against Tottenham, but literally everything worked out in his favour. It was fantastic to watch.

Yesterday, while playing calmly and controlled, he created 3 chances which is more than how many he created against Newcastle, so this playstyle will allow him to do both. He just needs to be patient.

 

[BerryBerryShrew]

Did anyone notice him going over to kick DDG a couple of times when he was lying injured on the ground? It's hilarious how much of a shithouse he is!

 

[The holy trinity 68]

His biggest problem, which needs addressing ASAP, is his constant habit of shooting from 30 yards out and never even getting the shot on target. The players are passing the ball around keeping possession, and instead of being patient and trying to find an opening, he gets the ball and just shoots.

This is a really big concern, because it offers the opposition a chance to attack us, and his shots do nothing 99% of the time.

Just keep hold of the ball ffs!

I am not sure what ETH is telling the players, because him, Fred, Dalot and Antony are really bad for this, it is so wasteful and pointless.