A derby day demolition - How City's left side stunned United in the first half?
A thread
A thread
United shaped in a 4-2-3-1 out of possession and man-marked City's players around the pitch. But they left Rashford upfront which ultimately gave the license for Ake and Akanji to carry the ball forward since it was a 2v1 in the first line. Walker and Cancelo stayed wide.
In the video, notice how McTominay had to get away from KDB to pressure Ake who was free to carry the ball. This then leads to a 1v1 in the wide area and Mctominay was once again forced to provide support to Dalot, which frees up KDB.
City also used Haaland as a linkup, especially when Akanji carried it forward. Gundogan here got blindside of Bruno and, as a result, an overload is created. McTominay is once again forced to jump which meant that Bernardo Silva had the space to underlap.
While KDB's overlaps and underlaps on the right side are a constant theme throughout the season, today it was Bernardo's runs on the left that provided the threat. He regularly got in behind in the wide area and delivered dangerous crosses.
This was also partly due to KDB dropping deeper to attract United's front five and free up Walker on the right. Walker then had the space to carry it forward as United's line was disjointed in midfield.
Bernardo ran the show with his clever movements on the left. Below, he drops deeper rather than moving into the half space, which drags McTominay. From there, he releases Grealish who is isolated v Dalot and there is an overload on the wide areas as a result.
When United looked to stop one of the center halves carrying the ball with Antony, Ederson can now pick Cancelo out wide, who has the time and space to operate.
A repeat of pattern, but this time Walker inverts. Sancho does not get tight to him and is allowed to carry the ball centrally. From there we see a similar story with Bernardo from McTominay's blindside running in behind.
Bernardo cleverly drags McTominay wide. Gundo now involves himself (look at him scanning forward) and releases Grealish. Dalot stays behind and does not track Grealish. Eriksen now gets dragged to Grealish, which results in space for KDB to deliver the cross for Haaland's goal.
And City have also got the counter attacking threat this time around. United's rest defense is poorly shaped with KDB in acres of space to carry the ball. From there, the devastating Foden and Haaland finish off a sublime move.
An incredible first half display killed United. Pep positioning the FBs wide might have surprised ETH, but United were also forceful on the ball, often looking to pick out Rashford's runs.
Gundo and Bernardo are so so crucial to the way City play. Both of them are extremely aware and manipulate their markers which in turn creates space for others. Can't imagine if both of them leave in one summer.
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