🔴VVD showed Lukaku's true level
🔴Liverpool need Origi against low block
🔴James = handball but not a red
🔴Havertz and Mount dangerous first half
🔴Liverpool fall asleep from corner
Havertz has always been a major set piece threat from his Leverkusen days, so why he's being marked by Henderson and not a VVD is poor man marking strategy by Liverpool.
He should be the main focus from a corner, not Lukaku.
Havertz and Mount were excellent in the first half and supported Lukaku with interchanging runs, runs in behind and Fabinho struggled to get to grips.
James and Alonso holding the width, allowed Chelsea's CAMs the freedom to wreak havoc centrally and in the half spaces.
James' sending off changed the game. Was it a penalty and a red?
IMO definitely a pen as it denied a goalscoring opportunity but a red for me should be reserved for a deliberate hand ball and this seemed like a harsh double punishment as hit his stomach first before going hand.
Liverpool struggled against the low block as predicted. Look at Jota and how he is surrounded by mountain who have high defensive IQ.
Zero box presence for Liverpool and thus crosses are redundant and Mane/Salah kept running into traffic. Poor tactics by Klopp IMO.
This is another image which reinforces the fact that the full backs were unable to get into these dangerous areas for crossing but even if they did manage to.. any cut backs or crosses were not going to find anyone or cause damage.
For me, bringing on Thiago earlier and Origi alongside a Jota or a Firmino would give Liverpool the chance to put two men into the box for the crosses and a physical presence who draws the attention of Chelsea's centre backs.
Suddenly they have to compete in the air...
As for Chelsea, even withstanding the sending off - this is the type of game where Lukaku proved he is not elite.
Van Dijk played in his slippers and was untested. Lukaku did not have the weapons and just got pocketed.
In big games, he will not be their main goal threat.
3/3 predictions correct in a row. If I was a betting man, I would make sure to follow @pythaginboots 😂but seriously thank you for the ongoing support and listen out for our podcast on Monday.
➡️ Walker is finished - STOP STARTING HIM!
➡️ Pep's OOP Structure is abysmal, no CDM??
➡️ Kulusevski bullies Gvardiol by making him defend
➡️ Haaland needs to trust his right foot
➡️ In possession City did look slick but lost confidence
City started well but for me Haaland's lack of willingness to use his right foot meant that some great opportunities were squandered and this then allowed Spurs to stay in the game.
He refused to use his first touch to push the ball into space in front of him and kept working it back onto his left which allowed Spurs time to get back in and make blocks.
Kyle Walker can someone explain this misguided loyalty angle from Pep? it is usually a sign of a manager who has lost his hunger when he starts making basic errors like this from a selection POV.
Pep needs to recover his ruthless streak. Son an old man winger was made to look in his prime, and kept tearing him down the line.
Maddison was also given so much freedom to operate and ghost into the box as none of those City midfielders were able to track back and physically bully him.
➡️Pentagon Press (3 forwards, 2 CM) backed by WB
➡️Ugarte unleashed as ball hunter
➡️Feed Forward - CF centric service plan
➡️Rest Defence (5-4-1)
Full Video:
#MUFC
[A THREAD] 👇
Amorim presses in a very structured manner. It is called a 'pentagon press' where he uses a 5 man unit to hunt for the ball... the CF supported by the two inside forwards, which is then supported by a second wave of two midfielders who vacate the space in midfield. It can lead to potential gaps between midfield and defence.
The near side wing back also supports the press whilst the other side moves back to form a back 4.
If the press is bypassed, Amorim likes to drop off into a back 5.
The midfield 4 still act as a unit, moving to the side where the ball is and looking to shield the backline but also squeeze the ball back from that side by using the touchline to pin opponents in.
➡️ Cucurella seems to have Saka's number?
➡️ Gusto's best defensive performance?
➡️ Odegaard invisible but decisive, Palmer the opposite
➡️ Caicedo stepped up as defensive shield
➡️ Raya swept to perfection
➡️ Rice at LCM is too vanilla
Arsenal erred today by using Rice as a LCM off the ball, which meant he couldn't get to grips with Cole Palmer who arguably had his best big match display this season in terms of 'involvement'.
Having said that, Cole Palmer didn't make the most of it with some poor decision making in key moments but it was overall a step in the right direction as he didn't ghost but tried to impact the game.
His rival Odegaard had returned from injury and he was a ghost for the most part. Very little involvement but then when the key moment came, he managed to make it count with a great ball to Martinelli who put it away despite a torrid display prior to it.
➡️ Palmer ghosts (played in front of Ugarte/Casemiro) ➡️ Mazraoui inverting sets traps for Madueke
➡️ Hojlund made it stick too much (release earlier)
➡️ Maresca stop A team v B team
➡️ Chelsea vulnerable out wide
#CFC #MUFC
Palmer was given a free ride against Newcastle, with plenty of space to operate in.
In this game, United had two defensive minded players in midfield (but both with a tendency to leave space in behind). Palmer failed to exploit this space, dropping too deep to connect player and letting United midfield get set up.
Maresca needs to show some more balls or inventivenss here and be prepared to take Palmer off, or combine him with anoher playmaker in these type of games where he is stifled especially bigger games where space is at a premium.
He wasn't the only one. Look how much Chelsea showed a general lack of penetration with their passing, only Neto is looking to get in behind... everyone else is too close in their own half and not really looking to turn United and get right at them.
❌ Large distances in midfield (3-1-6)
❌ Lack of quality overlaps
❌ CB's either too slow or feeble
❌ CF's starved or undercooked
❌ Lack of legs/positional IQ at CDM
❌ Bruno, Rashford - Hollywood Ball
❌15 min press
A THREAD 🧵
#MUFC
How often did we see United play this absolutely moronic 3-1-6 shape in possession where there was zero relationisim in the midfield region, no chance for the deepest midfielder to find consistent options to pass it to and create some triangles... a key concept for when a team is trying to control chaos.
Eriksen, Casemiro, Mainoo... all suffered at times as the sides deepest pivot only to see their partners flying forward to pick up pockets of space with no real chance of the ball getting there and watching their team mate swarmed under pressure.
Not to mention this also left the team pretty vulnerable on the counter which we will touch upon later.
Anthony is now officially a meme and truth be told, he should shoulder some blame for that but Ten Hag hung him out to dry from a tactical point of view and he's not the only one.
Rashford has also recently begun to suffer due to Ten Hag's full back choices.
Wan Bisakka behind an inverting winger didn't make sense, hence it was Garnacho at RW which fixed this issue. He then moves Garnacho left this season, and replaces AWB with another mostly defensive full back in Mazraoui?
So where are the overlaps coming from when Dalot likes to invert? none of this is coherent or makes sense.
Ten Hag’s #MUFC tenure vs Arne Slot brief #LFC reign is a wonderful study in the importance of good coaching.
Failure to sign Zubimendi - was easy for Liverpool’s build up to take a hit and for them to lose ‘control’.
Instead Slot coaches his way out of it.
A THREAD 🧵
Ten Hag’s terrible player profiling especially in the midfield region has really haunted Manchester United during his entire reign.
The 6 region has completely baffled him on and off the ball.
Yet this is the area of the pitch where the modern coach most needs to excel in since the rise of Guardiola…
Slot you could tell from day 1 in pre season was preoccupied with getting this area of the pitch right. Whilst he was also seeking a transfer solution for this role he was nevertheless laying down ground work for the players who could compete for this area of the pitch.