Roger Bonet

It’s inevitable that opponents will force you into wide areas at times, so United has developed a variety of solutions and patterns to handle these situations. One of these solutions involves the use of inverted wing-backs to switch play effectively, as shown in this image.

This ability to advance through wide areas forced Man City to adapt their pressing. Instead of pushing their fullback higher, they kept him deeper to counter United’s half-space runs, specially on the right, where Diallo was a significant threat to the space.

This contrasts with Man City’s approach against Sporting in the Champions League, under Amorim, where they pressed aggressively with fullbacks pressing the wingbacks and were punished for it.

Teams are beginning to respect this quality from United, becoming more cautious in their pressing as a result. Look this image. Fullback stays in position, forcing Foden to move wider with the wingback. This movement creates space inside, leaving one United player unmarked.

Solutions across wide areas + key threats from the half-spaces (Garnacho, Diallo or Rashford) could help United to face more cautious pressing approaches. This would likely result in more time on the ball to facilitate build-up play and therefore longer spells of possession.