THREAD 🧵- Yes, in the 2-2 draw between Barcelona and Manchester United, Fred was often playing as our highest midfielder out of possession, with Weghorst slightly deeper. Here’s why 👇
United were really aggressive against Barcelona’s midfield players, who were mainly building up in a 3-2 shape. Fred stayed really tight to De Jong, Weghorst to Kessie and Casemiro to Pedri (before injury) and then Roberto.
A further example from the first few minutes of the game. You can see the intentions of the United players already.
Interestingly enough Fred was often United’s most advanced midfield player, as he was given the job of staying very close to FDJ whenever possible.
Interestingly enough Fred was often United’s most advanced midfield player, as he was given the job of staying very close to FDJ whenever possible.
Why was this the case? Due to the Brazilian’s brilliant tenacity and counter-pressing ability. De Jong is Barcelona’s biggest threat in build-up and Fred was tasked with trying to reduce De Jong’s impact as often as possible.
Why was Wout deeper? Weghorst was staying close to Kessie, who isn’t as much of a threat in build-up as FDJ, so we often saw Kessie slightly higher up the pitch than De Jong, meaning Weghorst’s positioning was very often deeper than Fred’s.
Whenever possible, United looked to be aggressive and stay tight on Barcelona’s midfield players. It is impossible to completely prevent them having any impact on the game, but United did a decent job at preventing Barca dominating the game.
Just look at how high United press here, man to man, eventually win the ball back through Varane and eventually create a chance through Rashford.
With Weghorst slightly deeper it also gives United the chance to use him as an outlet in possession during our approach play, like we saw against Leeds in the 2-0 win away from home. Rashford at number 9 also gives us the opportunity to push the opposition defence further back…
Meaning we can look to sustain pressure more often. These little tweaks are very important and I’ve been really impressed by Ten Hag’s adaptation this season, changing the positions of players to make us a more unpredictable team. Brilliant work!
Throughout the 90 mins United managed to prevent Barcelona dominating the game, and made it into more of a fast paced, often transition based game which suited us very well. I hope you enjoyed reading this thread, please do LIKE, RETWEET AND FOLLOW @ThreadmanChaza for more!
Please also do subscribe to my YouTube video where I will be doing a video analysis of the Barcelona game! @threadmanchaza7332" target="_blank" rel="noopener" onclick="event.stopPropagation()">youtube.com
Loading suggestions...