Manchester United supporters are now clinging to every green shoot.
On Saturday, Ruben Amorim’s side claimed a much-needed win for the international break by beating Sunderland 2-0 at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Mason Mount and Benjamin Shekiko.
The Red Devils then take on champions and bitter rivals Liverpool at Anfield, before a tough looking fixture against Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.
Ahead of this challenging period, Amorim has unearthed a deadly attacking duo reminiscent of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole from Manchester United’s glory days?
Numbers: Man United’s Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole
In 1998/98, Manchester United defeated Newcastle in the FA Cup final, pipping Arsenal to the Premier League title with a solitary point on the final day, and a historic comeback against Bayern Munich snatched the Champions League.
Needless to say, Yorke and Cole were key figures in this success, scoring 29 and 24 goals respectively in all competitions.
This makes them one of the most dangerous attacking duos in Premier League history, as the table below documents.
Selected Premier League duos | ||
|---|---|---|
player | club and year | the goal |
Andy Cole & dwight york | manchester united 1998/99 | 53 |
Chris Sutton & alan shearer | blackburn rover 1994/95 | 52 |
Didier Drogba & frank lampard | chelsea 2009/10 | 63 |
thierry henry & Robert Pires | arsenal 2003/04 | 58 |
harry kane & son hyunmin | tottenham hotspur 2017/18 | 59 |
Wayne Rooney & Cristiano Ronaldo | manchester united 2007/08 | 60 |
julian álvarez & erling holland | manchester city 2022/23 | 69 |
Sadio Mane & mohamed is wrong | liverpool 2018/19 | 53 |
Statistics via Premier League | ||
Yorke, now manager of Trinidad and Tobago and Tobago, I bet you didn’t know it, arrived at Old Trafford from Aston Villa, who later went on to represent Blackburn, Birmingham and Sunderland.
Cole was poached from Newcastle, where he was a massive star, making him a total of 12 English clubs.
Now, does the current iteration of Manchester United have a duo that can recreate the famous Yorke-Cole duo?
Manchester United’s modern-day York and Cole
They may not be a traditional striking partnership as Amorim searches for a winning formula, but Amad Diallo alongside Brian Mbemo could be a pair of attackers for Manchester to unite at the table.
Amad was arguably the Red Devils’ most dangerous attacker last season, scoring 11 goals and 10 assists, scoring a stoppage-time winner in the Manchester derby at the Etihad.
After arriving as a teenager from Atalanta for up to £37 million, Koiborian endured an underwhelming loan spell at Rangers before showcasing his talent at Sunderland, scoring 14 goals for the Black Cats and taking part in the EFL Championship play-offs.
Now Amad is winning plaudits for his performances at Man United, with Darren Bent speaking in Turksport labeling him a “wonder kid” and adding that he was the club’s “best (player)” after scoring a hat-trick against Southampton in January.
Mbeumo, meanwhile, joined for a reported fee of £701 million this summer and scored 20 Premier League goals for Brentford last season.
The Cameroon international opened his Man United League account against Burnley in August, but has had more shots (17) with the club this season (17).
Athletic’s electric winger Karl Anka claimed that he is certainly “one of the better forwards in the Premier League”.
So now how does Amorim get them both in the same starting lineup?
Well, Man United signed a completely new front three in the summer, and although Mas Cunha was yet to earn his mark, Haijiro scored against both Brentford and Sunderland, thereby opening his account for the club.
As a solution to getting them all, Amad was deployed at wing-back for the visit of Sunderland.
At the weekend, as outlined by Sky Sports’ Adam Bate, Amadou and Mbeumo were very “impressive” as a duo, with the Ivorian attempting six dribbles.
Well, Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris certainly agreed, later pointing out that the man was “really strong on the side”, adding that this forced less-spotted tactical substitutions in the first half.
Meanwhile, journalist Muhammad Butt labeled them a “great double act” and praised their “great chemistry and creativity”. Karl Anka concludes that this match is 2.
Therefore, Amad is formed both last season and on weekends.
For a more demanding fixture, he should be used at Cunha’s expense in the attack, and in games where the responsibility at Manchester United is to create and dismantle the opposition, he should choose Diogo Dalot or Noussair Mazraoui on the right wing.
In summary, it’s still early days, but this duo could be Man United’s best partnership since the glory days of the late ’90s.
