The Red Devils’ woes against Slovakia: Tielemans has a clear answer

Youri Tielemans could well be included in the starting line-up alongside Amadou Onana on Saturday, in order to bring a bit more cohesion to the play. However, for the Leicester City midfielder, that’s not necessarily where the shoe pinches.

One of the most criticized aspects of the Red Devils’ play against Slovakia was the double pivot of Onana-Mangala, which brought too little connection in possession. Kevin De Bruyne was not found easily enough in the spaces, and the passes were too often lateral.

However, this “double 6” in midfield has been a must for a good part of the qualifying campaign and has often been praised. But the connection does not seem to be happening as planned with KDB, who has played little in this team, it should be remembered.

Tielemans sees the problem

Youri Tielemans could therefore come and play as a “quarterback” alongside Onana. Ironic, when one remembers the criticism received by the Aston Villa midfielder in this role for the national team. It was dailleurs en 10 qu’il a livré son meilleur match en sélection, à Wembley, en mars dernier.

“My best match? It’s possible, I scored a brace, that helps. But it’s not complicated for me to move from 10 to 6, I do it at club level too,” assures Tielemans. If he starts against Romania, it will be to break the lines, his great strength… but Youri doesn’t think that was the problem on Monday.

“I don’t think we really had any trouble finding our forwards, it was more the final touch that was missing,” he said on Thursday at a press conference. “We lacked freshness and clarity to score the goal that would have launched us. Not the last pass”.