Attacking Football

Manchester City Vs Manchester United: How Ruben Amorim humbled Guardiola's side at the Etihad. 

🧵Thread by: @FathalliMo 

It's been a very long time since Manchester United visited the Citizens with the intent to "control" the game and go toe to toe with Guardiola's team. 

Maybe that's why this recent Derby win feels a bit more special for United supporters, as the club finally looks like it's on the right track, especially on the pitch.

This thread will go through Manchester United's approach with and without the ball, mainly focusing on the positives to understand how the Red Devils had  the unexpected "control."

Likes, Rts, Qts, Follows and any Feedback is all appreciated. 

#MCIMUN #MUFC #GGMU

Out of Possession:

Manchester City were limited to 0.91xG, with just 0.29xG coming from open play. So, let's start with the Red Devils' out-of-possession approach.

Right from the start, Ruben Amorim was going to implement the 5-2-3 OOP shape he used at Sporting. 

Before Mount's injury, Bruno played as a pivot alongside Ugarte. His main task was to drop wide to support Mazraoui against Doku and Nunes. 

This strategy worked, especially because Mazraoui handled himself against Doku, winning six out of nine tackles.

Despite Mason Mount going out due to injury, the OOP plan didn't chance. 

The front five remained narrow, blocking central areas and allowing City to use the spare man, Nunes, as an out-ball. From there, Mainoo joined Mazraoui on the right-hand side while Manuel Ugarte swept in front of the backline.

Speaking of Ugarte, the Uruguayan might've put his best performance in a Manchester United shirt both with and without the ball.

https://x.com/FathalliMo/status/1868363330555146550

Whenever Manchester City decided to go long from Ederson or tried to progress the ball through line-breaking passes, all three Manchester United center-backs did well to either win their aerial duels or step out of the backline to intercept passes towards De Bruyne and Foden.

The Red Devils won more duels, notably in the air, in what was probably the most active defensive performance we saw from United center backs.

Although Manchester United did not press high for the majority of the game, there were some instances, especially during City's goal kicks, when the Red Devils stepped up the pitch and played man-to-man, forcing the opponent to go long and contest the aerials at the back. 

The defensive approach didn't change in the second half, and although the Citizens had success in finding Foden in the pockets, United's backline did well to react by either tracking the surrounding runners or intercepting the ball off of N47. 

In Possession:

Sure, the Red Devils forgot their "fork" at home in the first half, putting in a toothless display upfront and averaging just 0.12xG. Still, that doesn't mean there were no signs of progress, especially when it came to building up from the back.

The key ingredient here was "switches." 

Manchester United repeatedly looked to play the ball on one side, provoke the press, and then switch the play to the other side, notably the right-hand side. Manuel Ugarte, who showed great composure on the ball, helped United get out of sticky situations multiple times.

After the switch was made, Maz, Amad, and Maino combined quickly to progress the ball.

Here's another instance where Manchester United overloaded the right-hand side to isolate and create space for Diogo Dalot on the other side of the pitch before switching the play. 

In the second half, with City's intensity off the ball decreasing compared to the first, Manchester United managed to gain more territory and have long spells of control. As always, the aim was to play around City's block rather than through it. 

This is, by the way, different from Amorim's usual approach at Sporting, who often looked to progress the ball through the middle. 

Perhaps the biggest proof of United's 2nd half-control was their first attempt on target through Amad's header, which came after a possession sequence that lasted more than two minutes (from 59:33 to 61:46)

Again, this sequence highlighted Amorim's principles of quick combinations on the overloaded side before quickly switching to the other side of the pitch to take advantage of the created space.

With control comes chances, and after Bruno's one-on-one miss, it seemed that Manchester United was going to get something out of the game. 

That's exactly what happened. Amad stole the show and the ball to win the penalty, then returned in the dying minutes to meet Licha's brilliant ball to win the game for United. 

Perhaps Amad's timing and execution of that run is even better than the finish!

Sure, some might argue that this performance was possible against a deteriorating Manchester City squad, but only United supporters would know how much of a difference a structured approach and a clear style of play have brought in the recent few weeks.

As always, Ruben Amorim has a long way to go, and the downs will probably outweigh the ups. However, with enough time and the right personnel, Manchester United will only get better, and why not return to where it belongs?

-End-

If you enjoyed this thread, make sure to follow @FathalliMo. Don't worry, he doesn't just post about United.

https://x.com/FathalliMo/status/1862786356935622994

Lisandro Martinez: The Butcher Is Not Done Yet. 

🧵 : Thread by @Declan3013 

Lisandro Martinez has had a very up-and-down career so far at Manchester United. 

Starting with major question marks over him before he even kicked a ball for the club, to being involved in conversations as a Top 5 defender in the Premier League after his first season to being labeled as too short, injury prone and a defensive liability. 

But since Erik ten Hag’s departure, it appears that the Argentine defender has found his groove again under new Head Coach Ruben Amorim.

This thread will look at why Martinez could be getting back to his best and possibly back in the conversations of being on of the top defenders in the league.

Likes, Rts, Qts, Follows and any feedback are all appreciated ❤️

#MUFC #GGMU

Not Good Enough:

Before talking about why he could be back to his best, I wanted to look at last season, where Licha went from being seen as one of the best defenders to having shouts he is injury-prone and needs to be sold.

Injuries: 

As you can see from the image below, a freak injury in a match at home to Sevilla was the start of his problems. He missed the end of the 22/23 season and then carried on his injury troubles into the next season, missing a total of 42 games in all competitions for Man United and Argentina.

This is where the calls for him being injury-prone started, and although it may have been true, it can be mainly placed on the fact he was never eased back into the team, just thrown in for full 90-minute matches as soon as he was fit enough to play.

Inconsistent Centerback Partnerships:

While a big factor in his bad performances was his injuries and the fact that he could never really get a good run of games to build performances on. Another big problem was every time he got back into the team, it was mostly with different centre-back partners due to United's big injury troubles last season.

Why He Could Be Back to His Best:

Since Erik ten Hag's dismissal, Martinez has been eased back into the squad by Ruud Van Niselrooy and Ruben Amorim by managing his minutes each game until reaching full match fitness and being able to complete full 90s without worrying about getting injured. 

This resulted in Licha being more confident going into defensive and aerial duels and having back his "mojo" on the ball back. 

Sure, his performances were not flawless, but we'll discuss these three points more in-depth right now.

Defensive Duels (Tactical Setup)

Sure, it might look like I’ve been saying that he’s back to playing well mainly due to his fitness levels improving, but in reality, there's much more to it. 

One of the reasons is  simply Ruben Amorim because his tactical setup helps cover Martinez’s defensive weaknesses. 

Martinez has always been good at winning his duels, but the system he was in under Ten Hag left the defense exposed due to his aggressiveness when defending, stepping out of the defensive line to put pressure on attackers. 

Under Amorim, United set up with a back five so Martinez has the ability to step out to press attackers and have two holding midfielders to help him in pressing and a back 4 to cover the space behind him.

Defensive Duels (The Stats)

Now onto the stats! 

Martinez is putting up some great numbers in the Premier League so far, averaging :
- 2 Interceptions per game
- 1.8 Tackles per game
- 4.2 balls recovered
- 0.8 dribbled past per game
- 2.6 clearances per game

These stats show that he is positioning himself well during games to get the interceptions, clearances and ball recoveries.

Aerial Duels:

Now while this is still a weak part of Martinez’s game, it's not as bad as people make it up to be. 

Licha has adapted his game to still be effective at dealing with taller attackers by using his body and his physicality to disrupt the attackers and rather force them into a lousy headers or them not getting to the ball at all. 

This was shown against Haaland in the derby; as you can see, Haaland targeted Martinez early on and was the main target for crosses, but Martinez used his aggressiveness and physicality to prevent Haaland from getting to the crosses.

On the Ball Ability:

With Licha back to full fitness and full of confidence in Amorim's structure, we are seeing Martinez back to his best on the ball. 

We see him as one of Man United’s main progressors, always looking for a pass forward first, and when he does, it’s pinpoint. 

He is dribbling around teams press, wriggling around players trying to tackle him. In my opinion, this is the best Martinez we have seen on the ball since he joined the club, and the stats back it up.

On the Ball Ability (The Stats):

Over his past 5 games in the league Martinez has averaged:

- 8 Progressive passes per game
- 91.7% pass accuracy
- 100% of take ons
- 1.4 progressive carries per game

These stats show that he isn’t just helping by progressing the ball and getting the team forward, but he is displaying world-class ability to hold the ball and helping United keep the ball.

Conclusion:

Lisandro Martinez's journey at Manchester United has been a rollercoaster, but under the guidance of Ruben Amorim, he appears to be reclaiming his spot among the elite defenders in the Premier League. 

After battling through injuries and adapting to inconsistent lineups, Martinez has not only regained his fitness levels but also his confidence and form. 

With a tactical setup that plays to his strengths and mitigates his weaknesses, along with impressive stats in defensive and on-the-ball contributions, Martinez is showing signs of returning to the peak performance levels that initially marked him as a top defender.