With the arrival of Nemanja Matic to the squad, the ever present Paul Pogba playing week in week out and Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick fighting for a place in the team, many had thought that Maraoune Fellaini's time at Manchester United would be coming to an end. But the game against Stoke City where we missed Maraoune due to his injury ended in a frustrating draw with goals conceded from set-pieces and defensive errors. This was a game where Man Utd struggled in set-pieces (although they scored a goal from a corner) due to a simple factor, Aerial Presence. Numerous times did Man Utd take short corners, put crosses in the box with no one attacking it.
This was a game perfect for Maraoune Fellaini.
You see, we play in a system with a 3 man midfield. In the matches prior to Stoke, Mkhitaryan was our creative midfielder, Pogba being the Box to Box mid and Matic sitting deep recycling possession. Fellaini then comes on a substitute replacing Mata but exchanging the position with Pogba. In the match against Stoke, we played with a midfield 3 where Pogba was our main creative outlet with Herrera playing Box and Matic sitting deep. Playing as a box to box against huge, physical players in Stoke City was challenging for Herrera although he did a satisfactory job. During corners, there was no aerial presence to attack the ball with only Lukaku and Pogba attacking it against 7 other huge Stoke Players. Because of this United rarely took direct corners and they just took them short and squandered chances.
When those fantastic crosses were put in the box by Valencia and Martial, there was no one to attack it. That used to be Fellaini's job since he has exquisite chest control and heading capability to go with his physical presence. In the corner kick where Man Utd conceded, if Fellaini was in the box, the ball wouldn't have gone in.
His aerial ability and physical style of play makes him a nightmare for opposing players to handle, with no other player in the Premier League last season winning more aerial duels than him (94) which was at least 14 more than any other midfielder.
This is probably the reason Jose views him as an important player.
Mourinho told: It's easier for Galatasaray to get me than Marouane, If they need a manager, they have a chance, but Marouane? Forget it. He is too important to me.
The Belgian will play a key role under Jose Mourinho this season especially in the premier league.