[Flying_Heckfish]

Looked good, especially early on with some nice one/two touch passing that set the pace for our play. When we have more possession in games we need to dominate, this will be invaluable.

Probably needs to play in a three or at #10 though, he isn't an all-rounder. It'll be interesting to see how much he plays once the window closes. He certainly looks a good signing though for "free".

 

[Renegade]

He feels more like a slightly better replacement for the role Mata has filled in recent years, but he will presumably play a lot of minutes due to lack of other options.

He hasn't been bad, but doesn't look much like he did at Spurs

Did we ever play Mata in the 8 role?You’re underrating the defensive work Eriksen did today. Really supported Malacia well at times.

 

[#07]

Before we signed Eriksen I was wondering where he'd end up playing. In the absence of new players coming in, looks like he'll be our #8. Not sure that's his best role. However, he put himself about enough in the first half to suggest he won't get swamped.

From the off I have questioned whether the money we're spending on Eriksen wouldn't have been better used on someone who excels at #8. However, hopefully he can do the job.

 

[Mike Smalling]

This type of high intensity, end-to-end game will not really be his strength for us, I feel. He will be more valuable in games against low-block teams, where we have most of the possession.

That being said, he did fine, and massively contributed to the first goal.

 

[Cassidy]

He’ll be really good against the low block teams

 

[Relevated]

I felt he was the reason mctominay was able to play well.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

People are saying his legs are gone but it's not every week we'll be in games that intense. That being said, I guess we've set the bar now, and the reason we won today is because we wanted it more.

My main concern for Eriksen tonight was his ball retention. He, alongside McTominay, which no doubt will be Casemiro soon, is meant to be our ball player in the middle. His passing accuracy was 65.2% from 23 passes. McTominay's was 85 from 20. Now, he'll need to improve this going forward because as I said, he's in there to pull the strings for us, and he didn't do that tonight. Yes, I know it was a game where we had a lot less of the ball but on the occasions he did have it, he didn't use it well, and the stats back this up.

Other than that, I felt he worked hard enough off the ball. Kept it nice and solid in there.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

I felt he was the reason mctominay was able to play well.

Can you elaborate, please?

 

[redshaw]

Unlucky with the freekick, looked in off the post bound. We're seeing glimpses of a high quality player and hopefully more to come. Commendable job he's doing while we sort things out.

 

[harms]

He was quite good in the first half. After that he completely ran out of stamina.

 

[Relevated]

Can you elaborate, please?

In contrast to Fred, I think he provided a lot of assurance and calmness of mins to Scott. He was a figure readily available & unafraid. Although his legs went overtime, he did keep the midfield ticking better than it usually is.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

In contrast to Fred, I think he provided a lot of assurance and calmness of mins to Scott. He was a figure readily available & unafraid. Although his legs went overtime, he did keep the midfield ticking better than it usually is.

I get it. Cheers.

I do think he's got a lot more to give on the ball. As I said, his passing stats weren't great but he won't come up against a team that has over 65% possession every week.

 

[Dominos]

I'm still not buying this idea that he's a true deep lying midfielder. He's made his name as an attacking player across his career, you can't take it as a given that he'll be able to reinvent himself as an elite midfielder in his 30s.

He's an option for that role he played today, but I don't think he's the answer. There's an amount of physicality, stamina and combativeness needed to be an elite midfielder, and you're receiving the ball in very different positions and scenarios compared to when he's played higher up the pitch.

He should primarily be the most attacking player in a midfield 3 or a #10 - to me he's an alternative to Bruno.

I hope we bring in a partner for Casemiro before the window is up.

 

[Jacky Quacky]

I'm still not buying this idea that he's a true deep lying midfielder. He's made his name as an attacking player across his career, you can't take it as a given that he'll be able to reinvent himself as an elite midfielder in his 30s.

He's an option for that role he played today, but I don't think he's the answer. There's an amount of physicality, stamina and combativeness needed to be an elite midfielder, and you're receiving the ball in very different positions and scenarios compared to when he's played higher up the pitch.

He should be the most attacking player in a midfield 3 or a #10 - to me he's an alternative to Bruno.

I hope we bring in a partner for Casemiro before the window is up.

He played in the same role for Brentford, he’ll be fine

 

[Dominos]

He played in the same role for Brentford, he’ll be fine

Fine isn't really what we should be aiming for. It's a good squad option, but if ETH thought Eriksen was the answer in that role I don't think the club would be obsessing over De Jong.

 

[El Jefe]

We knocked it long from kick offs and played through the channels a lot it obviously wasn't a game where Eriksen could be at his best but I was still impressed. I was a bit worried about him in the CM position but he worked hard and smartly off the ball. He's not as intense as Bruno or Fred but he did a very stellar job.

 

[criticalanalysis]

Worked very hard, don't think he has the agility, and quickness to cause more danger up front. But can still be very good for the build up and long passes.

This.

Nobody was great on the ball consistently, him included but he made it up by putting himself about and doing the hard work with intensive runs, covering etc.

 

[Pronewbie]

Was expecting more than consistent 6/10 performances so far. Then again he started preseason late and will need time to gel with a team that is in constant flux.

 

[Lost bear]

I'm still not buying this idea that he's a true deep lying midfielder. He's made his name as an attacking player across his career, you can't take it as a given that he'll be able to reinvent himself as an elite midfielder in his 30s.

He's an option for that role he played today, but I don't think he's the answer. There's an amount of physicality, stamina and combativeness needed to be an elite midfielder, and you're receiving the ball in very different positions and scenarios compared to when he's played higher up the pitch.

He should primarily be the most attacking player in a midfield 3 or a #10 - to me he's an alternative to Bruno.


I hope we bring in a partner for Casemiro before the window is up.

I agree with this. He is best as an attacking midfielder, something like a 10. We won’t get the best out him in a role that needs him to run a lot and to be more physical. What a shame we couldn't get FdJ as well.

 

[izak]

Looked world class today i thought especially in that first half, but as the game went on tiredness took over so did his influence on the game. Hope to see more of him going foward.

 

[Beachryan]

With 5 available subs, we should be okay, but can't see him going the 90 in central midfield very often, at least with what we've seen to date.

 

[Pat Cat]

He's not very good is he? Maybe the worst player in the premier league physically, should've been given a squad role but with our midfield being the mess that it is he's somehow a key player. Absolute shambles

 

[Jacky Quacky]

Jesus Christ he was fine and helped out a lot defensively. What’s wrong with ya’ll?

 

[Jacky Quacky]

Fine isn't really what we should be aiming for. It's a good squad option, but if ETH thought Eriksen was the answer in that role I don't think the club would be obsessing over De Jong.

What do you expect? He came on a free and is a solid squad player

 

[dan1509]

He's not very good is he? Maybe the worst player in the premier league physically, should've been given a squad role but with our midfield being the mess that it is he's somehow a key player. Absolute shambles

Remind me, who was it that played the throughball to Malacia for Sanchos goal?

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

He's not very good is he? Maybe the worst player in the premier league physically, should've been given a squad role but with our midfield being the mess that it is he's somehow a key player. Absolute shambles

Our fanbase love misery.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

He was good today. A few great moments (retaining the ball under pressure and then the pass to open Liverpool upbfor the first goal) and one quick through pass come to mind. But also a game for the more athletic players to stand out.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

He's not very good is he? Maybe the worst player in the premier league physically, should've been given a squad role but with our midfield being the mess that it is he's somehow a key player. Absolute shambles

Bloody hell that's a bit much. After a horrific start to the season and us staring at 3 losses in 3, he was the orchestrator in opening up liverpools defence for our first goal.

 

[Charlie Foley]

Remind me, who was it that played the throughball to Malacia for Sanchos goal?

Do you mean to Elanga?

 

[Charlie Foley]

I thought he had some good moments but the pace of the game caused him to struggle physically. Still think we need someone in midfield with him as a rotation option, or a starter when we’re trying to open a team who will sit back.

technically very good though and so great to see him playing. I cried that day he collapsed.

 

[Idxomer]

Never expected him to play almost every minute in our first 3 games, he should get a rest on Saturday.

 

[MDFC Manager]

I think he did well, considering he's the only one in the squad who can play a number of midfield roles to a decent proficiency

 

[Fortitude]

The problem with a game like this is that we were not good on the ball in terms of retention and composure, which means the resting in possession component of extremely high octane pressing actions was mostly absent. That's a death knell for someone like Eriksen (and Sancho) because he doesn't have an engine that affords him to play at such a high intensity for very long before flagging, and once in such a state, his game is naturally going to be loose because he's knackered.

We need to improve with the ball and make it do more work when we have it or Eriksen will be a fall guy. If we do not manage that, he'll be wrecked the soonest of our midfielders once the games come thick and fast.

What was telling is that even with a week between games, he still struggled, so we're going to have to do better on the ball as a whole if we're to see the best of him as a game influencer.

 

[Kramer]

This type of high intensity, end-to-end game will not really be his strength for us, I feel. He will be more valuable in games against low-block teams, where we have most of the possession.

That being said, he did fine, and massively contributed to the first goal.

This is basically exactly what I came in here to say.

He will be much more useful when we have more possession and teams are sitting back.

His composure and passing range will really help. He will help us control the tempo of those games in a way Fred-Mctominay simply cannot.

 

[NoPace]

He was quite good in the first half. After that he completely ran out of stamina.

I just rewatched it, and it really was a Scholes 2008 sort of performance. Excellent defensively against an extra midfielder in a double pivot by just always being in the right place (except for the Salah shot that Lisandro blocked, in which he went wide instead of moving centrally) and set up the assist for the goal with a clever 1-2 and hit another great pass to Sancho to set up a Rashford blocked shot in the area.

Could see us playing Casemiro on the left of the double pivot and Eriksen on the right of it to help Lisandro in the air off goal kicks and such, and he'll probably have to play 60 minutes or so if he's a first choice CM for us, but that's fine. Fred can come on to play with his Brazilian midfield partner for the last 30, and hopefully Garner can win that job. Assuming we don't sign De Jong.

 

[Olecurls99]

I just rewatched it, and it really was a Scholes 2008 sort of performance. Excellent defensively against an extra midfielder in a double pivot by just always being in the right place (except for the Salah shot that Lisandro blocked, in which he went wide instead of moving centrally) and set up the assist for the goal with a clever 1-2 and hit another great pass to Sancho to set up a Rashford blocked shot in the area.

Could see us playing Casemiro on the left of the double pivot and Eriksen on the right of it to help Lisandro in the air off goal kicks and such, and he'll probably have to play 60 minutes or so if he's a first choice CM for us, but that's fine. Fred can come on to play with his Brazilian midfield partner for the last 30, and hopefully Garner can win that job. Assuming we don't sign De Jong.

I wouldn't go as far as Scholes just yet but he was very good last night

 

[Skills]

He doesn't look fit yet. It's worth noting he had a long summer, and only joined for pre season less than a month ago (for the European leg)

 

[MiracleInMadrid]

Don't get the bit of negativity in here.

He was never a physical player. He compensates by doing a lot of hard work to help his teammates double up on wingers, cut passing lanes and so.
In addition, he rarely give the ball away, and keeps the pace of our play up. He doesn't stand still with 5-10 touches before letting it go, as we have seen Pogba do for years while dragging out any tempo in our buildup play.

He offers himself to set up players with the third or second last pass before a goal chance.
A perfect example was Sanchos goal last night. Moments before the goal he recieves the ball in a good position, but doesn't do to well to play the chance bigger or try a shot. Ends up passing the ball up instead of trying something impossible. Seconds later he ends up playing Elanga through with a very well-weighted pass that sends Elanga past the defensive line and in a good position to play the ball to Sancho who scores.

He will not get a ton of assists and goals for us while playing this deep, but he will help with building attacks and keeping control when on the ball.

 

[Kostov]

He was good IMO, then got tired and should have been subbed earlier.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

Eriksen was really good in the first half and then faded. Still overall a good performance and promising. Knows how to play a pass.