Manchester is Blue!

59 Comments / By /

The Manchester derby! Manchester City vs Manchester United! One of THE fixtures in world football, widely followed by millions, hotly contested by both sets of players to determine one thing – is Manchester blue or red? Whichever side wins, the bragging rights belong to them…until the next derby.

In the first Manchester derby of the 2022/23 season, blue overpowered red as Man City thrashed Man Utd courtesy of hattricks by Erling Haaland and Phil Foden. Man Utd got a goal back through a stunning strike by Antony and Martial scored twice late on to ensure it was not an entirely miserable night for the reds. The final score was 6-3 which is flattering towards Man Utd.

The first half was summarized by Sir Alex Ferguson watching on, looking completely demoralized at his old club being picked apart with regularity. This is a visual Man Utd fans have gotten used to since 2013, when Sir Alex retired. While a better second half provided encouragement for the reds, it was nonetheless a brutal reminder of the gap that exists between the two clubs. Erik Ten Hag might have fallen for the hype around his team which might explain his lazy tactical preparation for the first half. Pep Guardiola produced a tactical masterclass which reinforced his status as the best manager in the world.

Now I don’t intend to get into a detailed analysis of how both teams played and how City got the better of United (again). Instead, I will give a brief overview of –

  1. Man Utd setup under Ten Hag
  2. Weaknesses in the system
  3. How Pep Guardiola exploited the weaknesses
  4. Positives for Man Utd

It also feels right to get my only criticism about Man City out of the way before I write any further – They got  complacent after the 60th minute which could have cost them had they not gone in with a 4-goal lead at half time.

Man Utd setup under Ten Hag –

Erik Ten Hag sets his side in a 4-2-3-1 shape with Eriksen and Mctominay forming the double pivot in midfield. Stars like Ronaldo and Captain Harry Maguire have to settle for the bench while Varane and Rashford are preferred. The back 7 and Bruno Fernandez have remained unchanged in all the league fixtures since the loss to Brentford. New signing Antony replaced Elanga in the lineup against Arsenal and kept his spot against Man City after a brilliant debut. Rashford was moved from the left wing to the striker role in the absence of Martial while Sancho was shifted to the left wing.

Man Utd play with a low block, preferring to defend deep and counter quickly. This was best demonstrated in the wins over Liverpool and Arsenal. They have also started to implement elements of the high press which Ten Hag was renowned for at Ajax, but there is still a long way to go before they can perfect it. Out of possession, Mctominay plays as a 6 while Eriksen supports him as part of the double pivot. During build up, Eriksen drops deep to receive the ball from the centre backs while Mctominay pushes further up the field. The full backs invert into midfield thus giving Utd numbers in the middle of the pitch. The key here is Eriksen who glides across the pitch, linking the play at various stages of the build up and acting as the ball carrier. His presence allows the forwards players to push high up the pitch while easing the pressure on the backline during the build up phase.

Sancho and new signing Antony provide width in the final third and their dribbling is important in fashioning chances while Bruno often plays as a second striker to provide support to the striker.

Weaknesses in the system-

For starters, Man Utd are over reliant on Eriksen. Whenever Eriksen has not played this season, Utd have struggled to string passes together and look lost for ideas in midfield. He is the only ball progressing midfielder at Utd in the mold of the likes of Bernardo Silva, Modric, and Thiago. The kind of player that Man City seems to have in abundance. It is easy to understand why Ten Hag wanted Frenkie De Jong, another player who is comfortable at progressing the ball. City’s tactics ensure he was anonymous today, which severely restricted Man Utd’s attack in the first half.

During the build up there are lot of spaces left in the flanks as the full backs invert and Mctominay pushes up the pitch. Mctominay has been criticized in the past for his poor positioning and is not suited to play as the lone Defensive Midfielder despite his impressive performances over the last few games. While he is a useful player to have in the squad, he should be playing as a box to box midfielder. His tendency to hide from the ball during possession is exploited by opponents. It is obvious that new signing Casemiro should start once he is properly settled into the team.

Rashford as striker may have worked against Arsenal, but it is not a tactic which will work in the long term. For one, he lacks the presence typical strikers do and he is more dangerous when he drifts in from the left. It would have come as a relief for Ten Hag to have Martial back. He will also hope Ronaldo regains the form which made him the most lethal finisher in world football.

Erik Ten Hag is still learning about the league and his team and therefore his selection can be forgiven. However, his tactics were more or less responsible for this thrashing. He failed to take into account the threat that City pose. While Man Utd don’t have the same depth as City, they still have a good squad capable of achieving top 4. However, with Ten hag showing his naivety again, it seems like a tough task.

How Pep Guardiola exploited the weaknesses –

Before the game, a lot of comparisons were made between Pep Guardiola and Erik Ten hag. After all their tactics are very similar. They even have the same hairstyle (or lack of it) and look somewhat similar. However, Pep showed why he is the best manager in the world with a tactical masterclass that blew Utd away in a blistering first half where Man City scored 4 goals. While they may have become a little complacent in the second half in which they conceded three goals, they still managed to score 2 to earn Haaland and Foden their hattricks.

Of the two managers, it was obvious that Pep was the one who took this fixture seriously. He studied the last few games of the reds and recognized their weaknesses could be easily exploited. While his team held onto the ball for a vast majority of the first half, he also took steps to ensure Utd’s attacking threat was nullified when they had possession. Through clever movements by Haaland and De Bruyne, Eriksen was marked out of the game with his teammates finding it impossible to pass the ball to him. You would have been forgiven if you thought Eriksen wasn’t playing – that’s how anonymous he was. This simple tactic threw Utd into disarray.

An early booking for Dalot allowed City to focus their attacks on his flank to good effect. That and the huge spaces left behind by Mctominay saw City lay seige to the Utd goal in the first half. The other factor in their favor was Haaland. The guy is a cheat code! His movement was so effective in marking Eriksen out of the game and his presence in the box caused all sorts of problems for Utd’s backline. He is making the Premier League look easy with 14 goals in 8 games. Ten Hag needs only to look at how Pep utilizes Haaland if he wishes to get the best out of Ronaldo.

Positives for Man Utd – 

Man Utd were better in the second half, especially after the substitutions of Martial and Casemiro. Martial provided a much needed presence in attack with his hold up play, clever movements, and better work rate as compared to Rashford. Casemiro settled into the base of midfield and did a decent job in linking play. That and City’s complacency allowed United to score 3 goals as consolation.

The loss against Brentford was due to a lack of effort. There would be no complaints regarding that in the derby. The effort was certainly there even though their passing was mostly wayward. With Man Utd upping the ante in the second half, they showed their ability to go up against the best.

Ten Hag changed tactics at half time and showed that he knows how to use the squad at his disposal. While his naivety cost his team in the first half, it was encouraging to see Utd come out fighting in the second half despite the game being lost by that point. They were more comfortable in possession and pressed high up the pitch. This shows the squad is full behind the manager and is capable of taking the fight to their opponents when needed to.

 

While there are a lot of lessons to be learned in this loss, Ten Hag will look to build on that second half performance. He would be waiting for an opportunity to gain back the bragging rights from Pep Guardiola when the two managers face each other next. But for now, Manchester is Blue.

Related Posts

59 thoughts on “Manchester is Blue!”

  1. Dhiresh Bahadur

    Superb, as always. I could not shift my eyes till finish.
    Speaks tonnes of knowledge and interest you have for this game.
    Keep it up.

  3. Anoop Mishra

    Superb,
    Shows your knowledge and depth about the game.
    It’s written so well that I can’t leave it until it’s finished

  4. Rajnish Madhukar

    It is blue now and will remain blue for some more time to come. Sir Alex may mourn but times have gone ahead.

    1. football.achi

      I agree. It will take at least two more years before red will rise up…assuming they stick to the plan

  7. Chandrashekhar

    I read the blog… simply awesome analysis… You have dissected the game to multiple level of analysis … the strategy, flaws … wow !! You are heavily into soccer teams and follow them thru.. Excellent writing … makes compelling read for all the soccer buffs … congratulations!

  13. N Saikrishnan

    NIce analysis of the Manchester Derby! City was a far superior side even earlier. With the signing of Halland, their attack group is lethal .

  15. Anurag Shukla

    Excellent narration. Well written !!

    The reds had to go down. When Stars like Ronaldo and Captain Harry Maguire had to settle for the bench, nothing more could have been expected 🙂
    …… and to top it all, Ronaldo went public seeking demotion of captain Maguire !!

    1. football.achi

      Thank you!
      Don’t know how much of that is true and how much is rumor. When you play for man utd, the media attention will always be high.

  22. Anil Bhatt

    Insightful analysis. I am a Red Fan and a big believer in the magic of soccer.. The greatest resurrection often come after the most humiliating defeat. In this Game this is the kind of kick that ignites the fightback. Congratulations to the Blue…….. Reds will be back.. thanks for the wonderful writeup

    1. football.achi

      Thank you. But I will take a negative view here and say there have been too many false dawns for the red devils. What they need is clear cut progress over some short term fix

  26. yogesh

    That’s a whole lot of information all funneled through the critical eye of a football lover…. 👍

  28. P V Maruthi Naidu

    Excellent analysis reflecting the deep knowledge of the Game! Thank you for your intersting article!

  30. Abhishek Sharma

    The quality of the writing is superb, and this is an ideal option for fans wanting to sink their teeth into something nice and meaty. The article is long for a normal reader who isn’t a die hard fan of the game but at the same time juicy and the perfect accompaniment to a good cup of tea on a weekend afternoon. I read it in bits & pieces and felt it’s written by a coach or player himself. Such detailing, Gosh ! Superb !! English Premier League 22-23 season is going on and Saturday win against Everton was somewhat relates with the strategy details given in your write up. Keep analysing and keep Posting! Make it Crisp &Witty for all serious and non serious readers.

Comments are closed.