Aheed Abrar
‘So far so good’ for Benni McCarthy working with Cristiano Ronaldo and other Manchester United forwards
Benni McCarthy has revealed his satisfaction working with Manchester United forwards, including Cristiano Ronaldo. The South African joined Erik ten Hag’s backroom staff this summer as a first-team coach.
McCarthy is a former Champions League-winning striker, with the accolade coming while playing for FC Porto. The South African also boasts Premier League experience, playing for Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United.
McCarthy has also managed teams in South Africa. The 44-year-old now comes to Manchester as a coach, with a particular focus on United’s attack.
Speaking to SuperSport (h/t Manchester Evening News), McCarthy is happy with how things have gone so far with the Red Devils. He’s been working with Ronaldo and other attackers on their finishing. But the 44-year-old knows he has a difficult task ahead.
“So far it’s been going good. I’ve had a few opportunities to work with [Cristiano] Ronaldo and the rest of the guys upfront and working on our finishing.
“But as the time goes by and things start getting more hectic with the Premier League schedule, I think I’ll have more time and find my feet and then I’ll have my work cut out for me.”
United’s attack has a lot to work on, considering last season’s performances. Apart from our 37-year-old forward, none of the attackers were able to get on the scoresheet regularly.
Ronaldo ended the campaign last season as our highest goalscorer with 24 goals in all competitions. Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho contributed with five goals each. United’s forwards were devoid of confidence.
The opening game of the new Premier League campaign against Brighton & Hove Albion reflected similar issues. Rashford and Sancho started but failed to make an impact. We lost the game 2-1 in the end. The Seagulls missed out on a clean sheet due to an own goal.
We failed to create many chances. United failed to finish the few opportunities presented in the game. The Red Devils had a few counter-attacking moves but couldn’t make the most of them.
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Anthony Martial being unavailable didn’t help us either. Nevertheless, the pre-season looked promising from our attacking players. Hopefully, McCarthy can have the players reflect on the same form during the rest of the campaign.
