This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
In an impressive team performance against Liverpool, Marcus Rashford no doubt stole most of the headlines for appearing to kick-start his season at Manchester United with a goal. But one man who perhaps may have flown under the radar, was Andreas Pereira.
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The Brazilian appears to be a trusted lieutenant of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, becoming a main-stay of the first-team picture this season. The 23-year-old has played nine times across all competitions, and has featured in all but one of United’s Premier league games. He has regularly deployed from the right-hand side, appearing there in six different matches. But against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, the Red Devils boss entrusted him with the number ten role. And boy did it pay dividends.
As the likes of Mason Greenwood and Axel Tuanzebe continue to be the talk of the town as the most promising academy products, it is easy to forget that Pereira has come through the Red Devils academy too after joining the club back in 2011.
His display against Liverpool typified everything that Solskjaer is seemingly keen on implementing: a fast, attacking game, with a commitment to pressing from the front and doing the hard yards. As Graeme Souness testified to on Sky Sports, the United midfield bossed the visitors in the middle of the park, and that was in no small part thanks to Pereira’s dynamism.
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All the talk this summer revolved around the future of Paul Pogba and whether the France World Cup winner would be leaving the club. As a bona-fide star, it may be understandable if the United faithful are reluctant to see him go. But in Pereira, they have someone who can equally affect games in powerful ways both at the defensive and offensive ends.
As per Sofascore, he won five duels, two tackles and made three interceptions as he set about trying to hustle and harry Liverpool’s midfield trio. It was a tenacity and drive that filtered through to the rest of his teammates, and whilst he put in a lung-busting effort to help the side out off the ball, he contributed in equal measure whenever he was in possession. His three key passes were a joint game-high and his three accurate long balls were often the start of some promising counter-attacks for Solskjaer’s men.
So whilst United may be wary of letting Pogba go, Pereira’s unbelievable all-action display against their arch-rivals on Sunday may have just given the club a glimpse of a potential in-house successor to the Frenchman.