Christian Eriksen dominated France in hint at possible Man United role

“There’s one attacking player who even surprised me, and not just because of what happened, it could have been dramatic for him, and it’s clearly Christian Eriksen… he’s always been someone of remarkable technical ability… but the number of games he plays, this ability to even recover is impressive.”

That was the French coach Didier Deschamps who was exuberant about the brilliance of Eriksen before his team played against Denmark on Sunday evening.

So imagine how he felt after Eriksen dominated the world champions in a 2-0 win that nearly took the Danes to the UEFA Nations League final.

It seems to be universal amazement that Eriksen can be so influential and so ruthless just over a year since that cardiac arrest on the pitch during Euro 2020.

No one who saw those horrific scenes in a stunned Parken Stadium that night could have ever imagined that Eriksen would return to a football field, let alone play football so well.

Equipped with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) device to regulate his heartbeat, Eriksen simply hasn’t missed a beat for Manchester United or his country in recent months.

It would be impressive considering everything Eriksen went through if he was just a supporting actor, perhaps an odd substitute appearance while taking it easy.

So to have such a good start to his Old Trafford career while being an integral part of World Cup-tied Denmark is nothing short of remarkable.

His stats from Sunday night tell you all about a player making the most of his second chance in football, let alone his life.

He scored eight goals against France, completed 84 percent of his passes, made nine successful crosses, won four ground games and recaptured the ball no less than ten times.

It was a standout all-round display, helping Denmark to a victory that was sealed by first-half goals from Kasper Dolberg and Andreas Skov Olsen.

In the end, it wasn’t enough to send the Danes through to next summer’s Nations League final, as Croatia won 3-1 over Austria and led them to first place.

That came after Eriksen scored a screamer from 30 meters on Thursday evening in Zagreb in a losing case.

Since returning to the Danish team in March, Eriksen has scored against the Netherlands and Serbia and has been a real creative force in other matches.

In Kasper Hjulmand’s system on Sunday night, Eriksen played three in midfield alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Thomas Delaney, which seems to fully unlock his abilities.

All of this begs the question of whether Eriksen can be used to anything else for Manchester United.

So far he has been part of midfield two in Erik ten Hag’s favorite 4-2-3-1 formation, with Bruno Fernandes playing the more creative number 10 role for him.

Eriksen has not complained and has willingly thrown himself on the defensive when necessary, usually along with Scott McTominay.

In fact, his Premier League stats have been very good since his arrival at United. He has made eight defensive clearances and further relieved the pressure by regaining possession 39 times in six games.

And that boundless energy was evident as he stormed through the Arsenal defense and went to Marcus Rashford to take a 3-1 win in United’s last league game.

His creativity and attacking stats weren’t all that noticeable – just that one big chance that was created, a 26 per cent accuracy, just two through balls, one assist and no goals.

But perhaps a lot of this can be explained by playing so deeply. If Eriksen played alongside Fernandes or even as a number 8, it would be a different story.

Fernandes himself has started the season very well and is enjoying a new lease of life after a disappointing 2021-22 season. So it is difficult to make a case for replacing Fernandes with Eriksen.

Ten Hag must certainly have considered playing them both together in a ‘double 8’. There’s a danger of tiptoeing, but their respective games are varied enough to unlock most of the opponent’s defenses.

But it is more likely that the Dutch coach concluded that United’s defense would be left too exposed by having just one midfielder.

McTominay is a grafter, but he alone cannot stop the tide against the best opponents and adequately protect Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane.

Even Casemiro, United’s £70million summer signing from Real Madrid, is incapable of winning every battle in midfield and will likely be integrated alongside Fred or McTominay at some point.

And that could squeeze Eriksen out, which would be a real shame, but United have enough games this season to ensure he still plays regularly.

Should Ten Hag make a concession and adapt to a 4-1-2-3 formation in the strange game, Eriksen and Fernandes Casemiro could play with an attacker from Antony, Rashford and Jadon Sancho.

It would give Eriksen a little more freedom, but most Premier League opponents are capable enough to mean the Dane still has to go back.

But Eriksen isn’t the complaining type and his abiding love of football shines through every time he takes to the pitch. His performances continue to surprise and delight.