How Ole Solskjaer’s tactics made Manchester United win over city rivals Manchester City in a dramatic match in the 16th game-week.
Manchester United defeated Manchester City in one of the most dramatic matches of the Premier League matches. It is a huge task to overpower Pep Guardiola, who had hegemony over the league in last two seasons.
On the other side, Ole Solskjaer who was being ridiculed by the Manchester United fanbase over lack results has finally got a sigh of relief after winning over the Champions of England at their own home.
It was not a fortunate win by the Red Devils but a well tactical plan to surprise Guardiola. Manchester United has been good against all the top teams, as it has the capacity to make good counters with the amount of space in the front line.
But last night was something special, the whole unit performed its duties well and decimated all the aspects of Manchester City’s plan. Hence, let’s look at how Ole Solskaer’s tactics made Manchester United win the Manchester derby last night.
Also read: Man City fan disgustingly mocks Munich air disaster during the Manchester derby
1. Defensive block
Manchester United’s players as a unit performed excellently when it came to defending. The robust defence of Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan Bissaka was detrimental to Manchester City.
But apart from this, Manchester United created a solid defensive block, comprising of Scott McTominay, Fred and Manchester United back 4. This defensive setup damaged the passing lines of Manchester City as Fred and McTominay neutralized Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva.
On the right side of the defence, Wan Bissaka was highly tough to crack for Raheem Sterling, and this is how Manchester City failed to make shots on target and David De Gea managed the long shots taken.
Although, with this Manchester United had to sacrifice on their midfield but it was compensated by the quick gameplay by Rashford and James which we will discuss in the next point.
2. Front 4
Manchester United opted to not have creativity in midfield in order to neutralize the highly explosive midfield of Manchester City. But it was compensated by the quick gameplay at the wings by Rashford and James supported by Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial.
The Red Devils caught Manchester City on wings when Angelino and Kyle Walker had to step further on the pitch to bolster the attack. In response, any long ball to either of wings was dangerous for Manchester City.
James who is one of the quickest players in Europe totally dominated Angelino. On the other side, Walker somehow managed to hold Rashford with his pace.
In the highlights shown, Rashford covered 60 yards of space in a few seconds to surprise Manchester City’s midfield and take advantage of the void in the defence.
With the same strategy, even Lingard came close to scoring and Anthony Martial’s positioning sense benefitted the visitors and helped them to extend the lead.
3. Counterattack
Manchester City was exploited by James and Rashford because of the space left by the Manchester City fullbacks as mentioned above. But more lies to it, as this has been a key asset for Manchester United against the top teams for a while.
Manchester United gave damage to Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham in a similar fashion. Contrary to the other top teams, Manchester United does not play the high-line.
Which has benefitted Solskjaer, who uses the empty lines to make James and Rashford run in those areas, this allows Manchester United to play like old vintage United.
It would be safe that Manchester United is the best side to make counter-attacks in the Premier League and it has always remained in their DNA.
The plan by Solskjaer was certainly not anticipated by Guardiola and was not changed in the second half too. The struggling defence of Manchester city, in the end, paid the price.
