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Pauly Kwestel Profile picture
@pkwestel
Aug 17, 2021 • 9 tweets • 5 min read • Read on X
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Little Tactical Analysis thread here: I still can't get over this goal from Saturday.

Everything about it, the movements, rotations, etc is the PERFECT way to combat Leeds man-marking strategy, and United carve them apart
#MUFC
It starts with Greenwood telling McTominay exactly where he wants the ball. Greenwood is going to have to drop about three steps deeper to make this work. Three steps doesn't seem like much, but if he doesn't do it, none of this happens
#MUFC
As soon as McTominay plays this ball, Fred starts running forward. Greenwood is going to drag the CB into midfield, leaving all that space open, someone needs to fill it. Fred spots this and immediately moves to fill it (while Bruno drags his man wide)
#MUFC
As soon as Greenwood begins to receive the ball, Pogba starts breaking down the left wing, allowing Greenwood to take one touch and curl it into space. Ayling has to pick up Greenwood, so Pogba's got room there
#MUFC
Fred has already beaten his man but the space still hasn't opened. There's two men on Bruno, the inside man spots trouble and opts to go help out on the ball. Ayling is responsible for Greenwood, so not only has he come out into midfield, but he never even sees Fred running
#MUFC
Greenwood stays stationary and essentially becomes the midfielder. Fred is able to run behind him to become the goal threat, and due to Greenwood dropping back he's given a big headstart into that CB vacated area
ST drops > CM replaces
#MUFC
And then of course the vibez after scoring that goal.

This team LOVES Fred
#MUFC
Fred and McTominay have combined for 13 Premier League goals in 126 Premier League starts

They've combined for three goals in three games against Leeds. It's not an accident, it's a tactical exploitation of Leeds
#MUFC
Correction, that's Dan James occupying two men in the middle #MUFC

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More from @pkwestel

Pauly Kwestel Profile picture
Apr 28, 2023
If United finish outside the top four it would be (probably) the largest collapse in Premier League history
If United simply drew all their remaining matches, they'd finish on 67 points

To fall out would require:
Spurs to win 4/5 + 1D
Liverpool to win 4 of 6 + 2D
How feasible is that? Spurs have won four of their last TEN
Liverpool have won three in a row but those are their only three wins in their last seven

Villa play Utd so if Utd draw all their matches Villa would have go to 4/4 rest of the way. They still play Spurs & Liverpool
It's ridiculously unlikely that any of these teams - which have not won at these rate all year, will finish out at these rates

And remember this is all based on United drawing every game, just one win changes the whole picture!
Read 4 tweets
Pauly Kwestel Profile picture
Apr 18, 2022
The last two years United had a de-centralized attack that distributed the shots and goals around the team

With Ronaldo it's a centralized attack built around him. So "where would we be without Ronaldo?" We simply wouldn't be playing a style built around one person
#MUFC
Since Feb Ronaldo has been taking roughly a third of our shots in each match. That's a significant increase over how the team played over the last two years. If CR7 wasn't here, they wouldn't have built an attack that relies on one person to carry the load
thebusbybabe.sbnation.com/2022/4/7/23011…
Carl does a great job breaking down how the where would we be without Ronaldo question is a misnomer

Also a misnomer is "Ronaldo scores goals and wins us games" 10 of his 15 PL goals (66.7%) have come in just five of the 26 matches he's started (19.23%)
CONT
Read 8 tweets
Pauly Kwestel Profile picture
Sep 15, 2021
LONG thread about midfield coming up:

This is the drum I've been beating for the past two years when it comes to evaluating midfielders. The standard is far too lax.

Fred and VDB weren't bad at all! But not bad ≠ good
#MUFC

(CONT)
For midfielders being good or bad is not black & white There's levels
Good - help your team win
Bad - cause your team to lose
In between - prevent your team from losing, but also hold your team back and make it more difficult to win

#MUFC often live in that third category
There's also the issue in how we define 'bad'
It's not just made a defensive error that resulted in a goal or give the ball away/bad passes

There are also plenty of things you can do that don't look bad but aren't in fact good
#MUFC
Read 15 tweets
Pauly Kwestel Profile picture
Sep 2, 2021
Tactical Analysis thread: Besides the midfield, the one thing that was glaringly obvious in Sunday's match was the need for the forward line to do their part and help the midfield out.
That goes for both helping to progress the ball, and defensively (CONT)
#MUFC
Let's take a look at some HORRIBLE defense where United leave Harry Maguire completely exposed and let Trincao have a free run at him.
A defensive midfielder alone doesn't fix this because there are so many breakdowns, especially from the forwards
#MUFC
(Pics are annotated so I can save words here). The play starts fairly innocently on the wing. Pogba and James have swapped roles (due to prior positioning) but James tucks in as the second CM. United look pretty well set up, except Bruno and James are both in no mans land
#MUFC Image
Read 9 tweets
Pauly Kwestel Profile picture
Aug 31, 2021
It's very clear Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had a plan for Manchester United. It's just that signing Ronaldo may have blown that plan up.

Regardless of the plan, they still don't have a midfield that is capable of playing the way OGS wants to play, and it all starts there!
#MUFC
Like we really can't overstate how not 'Premier League champions' quality Fred, Matic, and McTominay are. And Pogba/VDB aren't midfielders either. United have the defenders/attackers to play the style OGS wants, but the midfielders are simply incapable
#MUFC
I always laugh at the notion that someone else 'gets more out of this team' because that someone else would still have to deal with McTominay & Fred who can't pass, and Matic who can't move
#MUFC
Read 4 tweets
Pauly Kwestel Profile picture
Aug 16, 2021
"I'd like to see Pogba do that 10 games in a row"

Well that would be 40 assists which would just about double the Premier League record for assists in a season so, no, I don't really think that's a reasonable expectation
#MUFC
The thing about using assists to judge people is it relies on your teammates to finish the chances. This is an incredible ball from Pogba but we're remembering it b/c Greenwood finished this chance. Not many people besides Greenwood are capable of doing this #MUFC
The xG on that Greenwood shot was about 0.08. Greenwood one of the few in the world who you fancy to actually maybe score it, but 9/10 times it doesn't go in.

That doesn't - and shouldn't - take away from how beautiful and perfect that ball was from Pogba
#MUFC
Read 5 tweets

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