Manchester City vs. Manchester United Analysis
THREAD ๐งต
THREAD ๐งต
1) It doesn't take a genius to know that City dismantled United. There has been a lot of content out there about how City tore through United's press, including very good analysis by @SamLee, @polballus and @Zonal_Marking. There's no point in me repeating what they say.
2) Rather, I'm going to focus on an interesting tactical trend that I've seen recently that allowed City to create numerous chances when they were in the final third.
3) We've heard plenty about Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden in the match, and rightly so. But the two most underrated performances were from Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva. They've formed a great partnership on the left side of the attack.
4) I've talked about it in previous threads, but when Gundogan is the left 8 with Grealish, it's harder for Grealish to have space. There's no threat for an overlap or underlap if Cancelo and Gundogan play on the left with him. That makes it incredibly tough on the winger
5) Then there's Bernardo, who has found a spot as the left CM because KDB dominates that right side. However, he's best as a right sided CM. He's done a job on the left, but his partnership with Grealish has given him a new life over there. Here's how:
6) Pep has instructed him to make underlapping runs in behind when Grealish receives the ball. Grealish pulls out Dalot, leaving a gap between him and Varane. Here's the first big chance which led to multiple shots on goal. Varane got pulled out leaving the middle open.
7) The next example shows how it opens space for Grealish. He receives the ball and Bernardo makes the run. This time, McTominay tracks the run. This allows Grealish to cut inside in the vacated space and draw the foul outside the box, leading to Gundogan's free kick off the post
8) The next time, Grealish caught Dalot in limbo and found Bernardo. Varane got pulled out to track the run leaving space in the middle, and gives Foden a very good chance in the middle.
9) Manchester City ran the attack through Grealish and Bernardo constantly and tormented McTominay, Dalot and Varane, constantly pulling them out of place. Although this didn't directly lead to a goal, it led to numerous very good chances.
10) Grealish and Bernardo have developed a very good partnership on the left. They work well together and their skills complement each other well. They also can interchange from midfield to wide, confusing defenders even more.
11) Overall, I think this was Grealish's best game in a City uniform, and a large part of it is due to the partnership between him and Bernardo. They help each other find space and create quality chances. Expect them both to be nightmares for right sided defenders all season.
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