Barcelona-Manchester United: Tactical Analysis (a thread)
What struck me early on was the vast amount of space United had in midfield as a lack of defensive cover from De Jong-Kessie, Fernandes had plenty of time on the ball to pick out Fred as an advanced midfielder with a license to roam and join into the attack as well as press
Out of possession it was a 4-2-3-1 with Weghorst deeper in midfield and Fred high up the pitch. This meant Fred can be in a position to cut the pass off and mark de Jong, but also if there was a tendency for Fred to be erratic like he can be it's less dangerous up the pitch
Fred can also ball carry and join in the attack as an advanced midfielder but harry Barcelona in possession ensuring they didn't have time on the ball. Rather than relying on him in the pivot where he isn't the most reliable at progressing the ball from defence to attack
It did leave space out wide for Barca with Sancho and Fernandes wide tucking in and Alba pushed up from left back, Araujo-Alba were the players in the most space for Barca
So whenever there was movement from Lewandowski dropping off slightly or wide, Gavi's runs created space for Pedri as Shaw and Casemiro were occupied by him, leaving further space out wide, this is where Barca looked the most dangerous with Gavi's runs in behind in the half-space
Look at the spaces available for Varane to pass out to Shaw from defence, it surprised me how little Barca's attackers worked and how little they pressed United's defence who has had some issues in terms of building out from the back when pressed
You could see early on this was going to cause major issues as Kounde had to keep coming across to Rashford bursting through because of the lack of midfield cover creating large spaces between right-back and centre-back
Something that really impressed me was Shaw and Varane's positioning at times when Utd attacked, high up the pitch. Unafraid to join in and keep the ball moving, or pressing on Lewandowski when he dropped deep for the ball, it pinned Barca back, and showed Utd's lack of fear
With Weghorst not the central striker it meant United had the lethal combo of Fernandes to Rashford in behind causing havoc, the lack of midfield closing Fernandes down or Barca's wingers helping the defence out meant he could easily pick out a pass, leading to Weghort's chance
Fernandes as a player is sometimes criticised because of how frantic he can be, or how he can lose the ball in his own half, but to have a player who knows exactly how to frequently play that ball in behind, whilst having unshakable confidence in doing so is a weapon
United caused Barca huge issues finding space in behind, with Rashford dragging Kounde out, and Sancho coming in field for the ball and no pressure on Shaw to find him. Wan Bissaka was able to dart into the space in behind with only Gavi following him who he beat
He was able to drag it back for Sancho to shoot wide but United constantly exploited space in behind as Kessie was not coming over to track runners and neither were Raphina-Gavi-Pedri often enough with Fred dragging De Jong around
With Fred as an advanced 8, he could either create space with De Jong following him or join Utd's attack occupying Barca's defensive 4. United would constantly look to play the ball in behind into the channel with a 4v4 occurring
It was a huge issue to have each Barca defender occupied by a Utd forward on the last line even with Weghorst simply occupying defenders centrally, it means they have to go back with them.Committing players is one thing but doing it in a formulated manner stretches the opposition
It's also how United scored the equaliser with Fred playing Rashford in behind evading De Jong-Kessie. With the pass not being cut off at the source by Barca, and players occupying their defence it creates space in between CB and full-back
There was large swathes of space for Wan-Bissaka to come into midfield, but the reason space was created in behind, is because if its 4v4 numerically one defender can't leave his man to help another in that defensive back four, the midfield neither blocked the middle or covered
Weghorst and Fred in midfield high up the pitch meant Utd were able to press Barca and win the ball back excellently, not allowing them time to build up but also turning the ball over in counter-pressing aggressively
Whether it was Casemiro's hard tackle on Sergi Roberto or Fred's energy, Barca were ill afforded time on the ball centrally, but if a Utd attack broke down they could quickly win it back and keep up the pressure. Fred is a useful player when his main job is to press not progress
United's counterpressing and pressing led to many attacks and here led to the Rashford chance after Sancho cut off the passing lane to Araujo, with Antony out of the team Ten Hag flexibly included Weghorst and Fred to help pressing whilst not losing Rashford as a central striker
Weghorst-Fred were actually deployed at times on Kessie-De Jong with a winger (Sancho) tucked in to stop the passing option of a Pedri/Gavi dropping deep for the ball with Casemiro watching just behind. It cut off central progression for Barca but as mentioned gave them joy wide
United created plenty as it was only De Jong tracking back on occasion with Kessie nowhere to be seen the space between centre-back and full-back was wide open for players to dart into. AWB often found space overlapping and crossing
Barca did cause chaos in the last 20 minutes or so after scoring, with the changes and Balde bombing forward more and Fati dribbling at United, but the main threat was the ball going wide and coming in through crosses (Fati chance) (Raphina goal)
It was an extremely enjoyable, chaotic game. One where United created a tonne but they'd also feel confident as coming to Barcelona and playing like that is an excellent indication the vast progress under Ten Hag.
End of thread ! All likes/comments appreciated, really enjoyed that one
Let me know what you think
As usual this will be covered on the substack:
dharnish.substack.com
Let me know what you think
As usual this will be covered on the substack:
dharnish.substack.com
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