[golden_blunder]

Tell you what, he’s got bloody quick feet. Very nice dribbling out of presses

I feel we will see the best of him when the others learn to see his movements better. Promising

 

[Still ill]

He's a great option for us, particularly if this diamond proves a regular choice of formation. He can't compete as first choice 10 against Bruno but great option as back up or either left or right of the diamond. Will getvplenty of time, huge upgrade as a squad option.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Tell you what, he’s got bloody quick feet. Very nice dribbling out of presses

I feel we will see the best of him when the others learn to see his movements better. Promising

yup, very very impressive

 

[Offside]

Looked pretty good to me. We need players like him who do the basics well. Completely different to Bruno who takes risks in everything he does but it’s great to have two options like that. Compare that to a year ago where we had Pereria and Lingard as the options in that position and it’s hard to support the argument that we aren’t making progress under Ole.

 

[El Jefe]

I loved his performance. We have a pretty strong midfield but all of them are prone to losing the ball, Donny on the other hand is so good in possession. Great first touch but also have the skill to beat his man. Only criticism is he needs to be hungrier in getting touches but I'm very impressed by what I see so far.

 

[Tel074]

Tell you what, he’s got bloody quick feet. Very nice dribbling out of presses

I feel we will see the best of him when the others learn to see his movements better. Promising

That's exactly what I came on to say . Great feet and very good in possession. He's lacking fitness atm but I'm looking forward to seeing him over the coming months

 

[bosnian_red]

His close control, short passing and short dribbling are brilliant. He'll be an excellent player in time, no doubt. Would say he just needs to get more involved, can drift out of games too often when his talent and physique should dominate them.

 

[GifLord]

9.3 km distance covered despite only playing 68min

 

[TsuWave]

He’s still pretty young

 

[Sean_RedDevil]

He must start against Arsenal.

 

[Adnan]

Tell you what, he’s got bloody quick feet. Very nice dribbling out of presses

I feel we will see the best of him when the others learn to see his movements better. Promising

This..

 

[Adnan]

9.3 km distance covered despite only playing 68min

He's a brilliant player on and off the ball. Once he settles into the team he will be even better and he's still very young.

When Bruno came on with Rashford, Leipzig were throwing players forward in droves with huge gaps to exploit which really helped the subs. But VdB for me was crucial in the 67 minutes he played and had helped laid down the foundation for the subs to finish the game.

 

[R'hllor]

You can clearly see that he is really well coached player, Ajax all over him.

 

[Marcus]

Fully justified the hype. I feel so comfortable with him in the side. He is the running safety net. If a player is under pressure, pass to VDB, he will either retain possession or pass it accurately to someone else. Don't forget that this is his first start and he was part of the team facing a fully fresh Liepzig. Very promising.

 

[ghaliboy]

There was a little passage early in the first half that summed his game up. He was under pressure, worked hard and then had to dribble out of a tight spot. Shook his man and played a ball to the CB and you could tell everyone around him all relaxed and went "nice, we can play through this pressure" and we started to move the ball with a lot more confidence. He's going to be an important player for us over the next 5 years.

 

[Raredaredevil]

He excels whenever he plays. I predicted Ole would start him and was delighted to see him in his first game in the starting 11. First game he starts for us and we won 5-0. I hope he becomes a main starter regularly.

 

[MikeKing]

If you split Herrera down the middle and grew two new babies from each part they would be named Fred and VdB. I think that eventually as he gets older he will transform into more of a complete midfielder capable of playing deeper, similar to Bastian. Having him and Fred playing deep could be a lethal combination in terms of balance, tenacity and quick feet.

 

[3KDré]

It's crazy that we have gone from Pereira and Lingard to Bruno and VDB.

9.3 km distance covered despite only playing 68min

I remember under Mourinho it was recorded Martial had done the least amount of running amongst anyone in our squad. He really has improved in this aspect, fair play to Ole. No surprise to see Fred there, he's probably still running now.

 

[Raven]

Thought he looked great but Bruno came on and gave a masterclass. This squad has massive potential.

 

[reddevilz007]

Vdb will be very useful against lower and compact blocks where space will be more scarce
His work in tight area will be valuable

 

[WR10]

There was a little passage early in the first half that summed his game up. He was under pressure, worked hard and then had to dribble out of a tight spot. Shook his man and played a ball to the CB and you could tell everyone around him all relaxed and went "nice, we can play through this pressure" and we started to move the ball with a lot more confidence. He's going to be an important player for us over the next 5 years.

Bang on. This guy is a model footballer. He wouldn’t look out of place in an 09 Barca team. Flawless in tight space passing and control. Resonates confidence in our team

 

[Freak]

He needs to impose himself on the game more but other than that it was very very promising.

 

[Get In Scholesy]

Looked very solid. I thought he had a good CL debut for us. It was obvious he was our newest signing out there, it looked like he was reserved a bit as he might be getting comfortable in the side, but his intelligence and dribbling stood out. Seems a disciplined lad.

Looking forward to seeing him more for us.

 

[Borys]

Not weird at all, He needs times to involve and blend with the team. Remember how fred needed a full season to do it?

He is a smart player and will do anything for the team, even if he's just a decoy. In the Newcastle game, he released our front 3 wide open because he knew they would pressed him hard.

We need a player like this, he would bring flexibility to the tactics. Our opponents will have a headache to scout our tactics now, he will have the answer to counter the high pressing or parking the bus.

I don't think him being not involved has much to do with "blending in". He moves only vertically up and down the pitch. You can see him pass the ball and instead of making himself available for another "pass and move", he jogs towards opposition box.

Once the ball reaches him he does well, but it happens very rarely. I'd like him to look for the ball more, because I'm sure he will be more useful then.

But I don't worry about him when we're in possession. What bothers me is when we chase the ball, he doesn't seem to be doing much (if anything). Not convinced by him yet, and I believe Ole is using him correctly.

 

[Rick88]

I think he had a good run out. Very difficult to press him and doesn't get caught on the ball. Him beating the press enables us to keep the ball longer and helps release the quicker players down the channels. I, for one, am definitely looking forward to seeing him play more.

 

[georgipep]

Glad to see the diamond work tonight. I feel using this formation gives us so many options and really plays everyone in their best positron too!!!

I hope you are right. It worked out great last night and it is probably a very good system against teams that do not overload the wings.

 

[Bobski]

9.3 km distance covered despite only playing 68min

Interesting, those team numbers would be significantly down on previous years standard totals? Perhaps showing the impact of Covid on fitness and explaining why there are so many strange results.

 

[Galactic]

I haven’t seen the game analysis yet but I think RBL players had a special marker on him. He was dragging their players with him at times.

 

[GifLord]

Interesting, those team numbers would be significantly down on previous years standard totals? Perhaps showing the impact of Covid on fitness and explaining why there are so many strange results.

Last year vs PSG

Spoiler

Last year vs Barca

Spoiler

2 years ago vs Juve - home and away

Spoiler

 

[zenith]

If we see more of the diamond or 4-2-2-2 formation, which I hope we do, then I'd love to see VDB and bruno play alongside each other.

I feel in their strength and weaknesses, they compliment each other perfectly. While bruno is a direct runner who looks for the key pass and any opportunity to shoot, VDB will keep possession and look to make a move into the box, with clever one touch play.

He'll also be such an asset against both low block and high press teams.

So pleased to have him as a part of the squad.

 

[Devil81]

If there was ever a game that highlighted the difference in quality between Bruno and Donny it was this.

He's a good player, but he's not better than Bruno so it's a squad role. I'm happy to back Ole with that against the media obsession now.

 

[UpWithRivers]

If there was ever a game that highlighted the difference in quality between Bruno and Donny it was this.

He's a good player, but he's not better than Bruno so it's a squad role. I'm happy to back Ole with that against the media obsession now.

Thats because he's not a number 10 and the comparisons to Bruno are unfair. I think he needs to rotate with Pogba as a number 8. Maybe it will come in time put he looks nothing like a number 10 to me. Mata is our second best number 10. Not that Im saying Mata should have played but if we want an actual 10 Mata plays like a 10 much more than Donny. Its hard to tell because the game in the first half was completely different than when Leipzig started opening up and leaving spaces. It was in some ways easier for Bruno and maybe Donny could have found those passes but I dont see it yet. However based on the job he did he as really good. Worked hard. Kept the ball. Foiled the press. Built the foundations for the second half rampage. Exactly what was needed.

 

[Phil]

Different type of CAM to Bruno. Bruno is an all-action midfielder. He'll go looking for the ball and try audacious passes, but VdB is more of a link player, which is something I felt he did really well tonight. Would have liked to see him a bit more involved, but when he got the ball, he showed some good stuff.

Agree with this. He's such a tidy player with very quick feet and a quick brain which made him quite press resistant.

I'm not convinced he's a Bruno number 10 replacement tbh, I see him as more of an 8 in CM.

 

[Cnaiür urs Skiötha]

He is really great on the ball, and makes good runs off the ball. Very clever and tidy player. I hope we will see him in a diamond with Bruno and Pogba against weaker teams, should be fun to watch.

 

[James Peril]

He excels whenever he plays. I predicted Ole would start him and was delighted to see him in his first game in the starting 11. First game he starts for us and we won 5-0. I hope he becomes a main starter regularly.

Haha talk about overreaction! He was subbed and he had a quiet day, not spectacular, not bad. A good shift. We scored four goals after he left the pitch mate.

 

[Strelok]

Tbh imo he has played too few minutes for us to be judged.

Like yesterday match if his job was to link the play, keep possession and pressing then he did fine. But if his job was to bring the ball forward and create chances then imo he didn't do well. Too many back passes and he didn't show the flair and flick required for that position. But I have no idea what Ole had instructed him so let's see how he'd do in the next matches I think.

One thing for sure is he has a great work rate and a pretty tidy, smart player.

 

[pacifictheme]

Think he'll do well, but currently looks like a man who hasn't played much.

However, feels good to have options in midfield finally, after so many years.

No Pereira, or lingard.

 

[Canagel]

If there was ever a game that highlighted the difference in quality between Bruno and Donny it was this.

He's a good player, but he's not better than Bruno so it's a squad role. I'm happy to back Ole with that against the media obsession now.

Bruno better than Donny is arguable. Donny's ball retention in tight spaces while the team was in defensive mode was important. Bruno's cheap losses of the ball could have been catastrophic under their high pressing in the first half.
By the time he had come on their heads were gone and there was acres of space in behind the defence to be exploited but the foundations had already been laid. It doesn't really show anything other than both will have their uses and should be rotated more depending on the team

 

[Mcking]

Looks like Jesse Lingard without the extra gear, with a fraction of the intensity and a fraction of the energy.

Tidy and looks to keep it going rather than take responsibility with the ball, and not the type to exert himself in games.

He's been exactly what I expected so far, unspectacular and on the periphery most times.

 

[Strelok]

Bruno better than Donny is arguable. Donny's ball retention in tight spaces while the team was in defensive mode was important. Bruno's cheap losses of the ball could have been catastrophic under their high pressing in the first half.
By the time he had come on their heads were gone and there was acres of space in behind the defence to be exploited but the foundations had already been laid. It doesn't really show anything other than both will have their uses and should be rotated more depending on the team

Sorry but I must disagree with that.

Bruno loses the ball mostly because he tried to accelerate the play, to make risky passes etc. to create chances or score. Look at him in the Chelsea match for example, he didn't try those much and he didn't lose the ball. Imo it's because Ole had instructed him to play more safely in that game because Chelsea has very quick and flair players. It'd be deadly for us if they had chances to counter. Bruno in fact is a very tidy player, with great ball control, super awareness and absolutely great passing. It's much easier playing safely than doing what Bruno has been doing.

People usually judge a player without taking into consideration of what he's been instructed by his manager. Like any job, it's very important to judge a player according to his 'job requirements'.