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Manchester United struggled to control the tempo and create chances as their Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur ended 2-2 on Sunday.
Facing new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, coach Erik ten Hag’s bizarre tactics allowed the opposition to control the game as the home team struggled to retain the ball.
This season, the manager’s instructions to try to win the ball higher up at the cost of sustained control have meant that opposing teams have had the joy of counter-attacking throughout the midfield.
And the same thing happened at Old Trafford too, with the midfield of Kobbie Mainoo and Christian Eriksen easily outclassed by the north London side.
Eriksen struggles in important matches
The Dane was sometimes the deeper midfielder, while other times he tried to press high up the pitch, roles he cannot play due to his serious lack of pace.
Against big teams, it’s a risk to play against the Dane, whose passes remain as ethereal as ever, but he simply can’t run. The Spurs took advantage and the former Tottenham player barely had the ball.
In 58 minutes, the 31-year-old had just 20 touches of the ball, completing just 11 passes for an overall pass accuracy of 79 percent.
The Danish international still made two key passes, but his physical attributes let him down and at times he was almost a passenger, chasing shadows.
He won only 33 percent of his duels and lost the ball five times and committed two fouls against his opponent (all statistics via SofaScore).
EtH needs to use it differently
He made a clearance and a tackle and was barely given any time on the ball and it was no surprise to see the coach take him off and bring in Scott McTominay who had the most touches of the ball in half an hour of action.
Eriksen can handle himself when playing against teams that employ a low block and give him space and time to pick out his pass. But against teams that like to press, the Dane is mostly a liability.
He could survive in a stable midfield where others can run for him, but in this strange tactical setup, Eriksen will always struggle.
The coach’s system does not help, as it places too much emphasis on the deepest midfielder to try to somehow stop the rival wave.
Even when players like Casemiro and Lisandro Martínez start games, not much is expected to change, mainly due to Ten Hag’s insistence on using such a flawed system.
