Manchester United’s derby loss to Man City has raised questions about the faith and attitude of the team from the likes of Roy Keane and Gary Neville, but Erik ten Hag may regret some elements of his tactical set-up. .
A first-half blowout that saw the Red Devils head to the locker room 4-0 down had traveling fans leaving early.
And winning the second half will have done little to impress the United faithful, with the game actually over long before Antony’s sensational goal.
Ten Hag pointed to continuity in his team’s selection, in terms of personnel, form and intent.
A fluid 4-2-3-1 with goal striking at half-time served him well in games against Arsenal and Liverpool, but against a team as hungry for possession as City, United were unable to press down the middle. off the field or was found breaking the field in any significant way.
The result was that United spent so much time without getting close to the ball that their midfielders seemed to panic whenever they found themselves in possession.
During the first half, one in four passes from Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay gave up possession, the latter on several occasions from dangerous positions.
Absorbing the pressure and hitting the break is a perfectly valid strategy, but the simple fact is that against a team like City, it’s impossible to use the ball without having a plan to win it first.
United seemed to lack that entirely, with acres of space for the Sky Blues all over the pitch.
What’s interesting about all of this is that Ten Hag has experience playing as an underdog against teams preparing to dominate possession in a 4-3-3.
As noted before kick-off, the Dutchman often opted for a 4-4-2 diamond during his time at Utrecht, scoring well against Eredivisie giants Ajax and PSV Eindhoven in the process.
By congesting the center of the pitch and having his two forwards push the opposition center inwards to cut off passing lanes to the full-backs, his team could prevent the top sides from playing from behind with any comfort.
In retrospect, it is perhaps puzzling that he has not applied this solution against Pep Guardiola’s side, given their successes over similar systems in the past.
It could be argued that Ten Hag may not believe he has the players capable of putting pressure on a quality City side in such a way.
But given the damage that was done by giving the Citizens the freedom of the pitch, it’s hard to imagine a midfield with Casemiro at its base, with McTominay, Eriksen and Fernandes up front, doing a worse job of limiting the supply of Erling Haaland.
All four must have the energy to stay close to their opponents. United’s defense should be able to play higher up the pitch. And two of United’s attacking players should be able to harass a couple of centre-backs smartly.
In any case, the manager’s preference for continuity over his own tried-and-true solutions doesn’t seem to have done Manchester United any favors in this game.
