Manchester United: 8 Ways to Beat Barcelona

The UEFA Champions League draw has taken place, and already the pundits have sharpened their pencils. Both in Manchester and in Spain, fierce rivals sit proudly top of the table.

While everyone has been talking about whether Barcelona are the greatest team ever, Manchester City and Real Madrid are on the march.

Manchester United and Barcelona are both odds-on to win their respective domestic leagues, but while the latter are favourites to win the Champions League, United and City are only third and fourth favourites, with Real Madrid sitting in 2nd place.

Nevertheless, many people would like to see a third round in the battle between Barcelona and Manchester United.

Based on the season's form so far and the additions that each club have made to their squad, there is no reason why the final shouldn't again be played out between these two heavyweights. The question is, following two comfortable previous defeats, how can United beat Barcelona?

1. Show No Respect

"I like to be a player who makes others scared. When I have the ball I like to feel the confidence to go and do my skills and dribble at defenders."

Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha, otherwise known as Nani, did not make the starting lineup at Wembley. But he did at the Fedex Field in Washington when the two teams met again in July.

The Reds won 2-1 and, while some might say the match was meaningless, it certainly wasn't to United. Although Pique, Iniesta and Puyol remained on the bench, only Messi was missing from the squad. The same manager played similar tactics to the final, but the better side won on the day.

There is a cliche in football about "showing your opponents respect." There seems no remote hope that Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho will show Barcelona any respect at all this season. But Sir Alex Ferguson and his team have surely shown Barca too much respect when they met in the 2009 and 2011 finals.

Starting with the formation and the tactics.

On both occasions, Guardiola saw a United team set up to contain the opposition and hope to win by counter-attack. Certainly United are masters of this strategy, but Barcelona are better passers, retainers and users of the ball.

However, when the two teams met in Washington, reinforced by youth, exuberance and Nani, United tore into Barca and, in the end, could have won comfortably.

So, as well as showing no respect, United need to rethink their whole strategy and tactics, doing something original and unexpected to win if they meet in this season's showdown.

2. Attack, Attack, Attack

Michael Owen knows how to beat Barcelona. On 11 April 2005, he scored in a 4-2 win for Real Madrid, whose formation also included Raul, the Brazilian Ronaldo and Zidane. He also scored in United's win in Washington in July.

Now, while it is questionable whether Owen could play 90 minutes, he and Chicharito have the pace and scoring instinct to beat any defence. People keep saying the Barcelona defence is beatable, but when you set out to contain them, you may not have many scoring opportunities.

Containment has been tried twice and failed, because on its own it doesn't work against a team that can pass you to death. Not only did United concede possession, but they couldn't win it back. The initiative was handed to Barcelona from the off.

But in Washington it was different.

United attacked their opponents at every opportunity, unsettling them with a blend of youthful exuberance and experience. Chicharito wasn't even playing; nor were Carrick, Scholes, Park or Valencia. But Nani was.

Of course, United will need players who can break down Barcelona's attacks, but in my opinion, they also need a completely different tactical approach and format.

In the Premiership, 4-3-3 and diamonds have been in vogue. United usually play either 4-4-2 at home of 4-5-1 away. In the 2009 final, they used the latter, with Cristiano Ronaldo as a lone striker, and were destroyed by a fluid Barcelona.

Whether it's the original influence of Johan Cruyff or manager Pep Guardiola, Barca play something approaching "total football," as the successful Dutch and Brazilian teams did in the past.

They have no formal striker and, on paper, an inferior defence, overwhelming the opposition with up to eight players attacking at one time.

So why play a traditional formation? Barcelona have no tall strikers and don't hit their set-pieces into the 16-yard box. So why play four traditional defenders? The secret surely has to be to play 3-5-2 and attack like Nani?

3. Play Three at the Back

Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are arguably the best pair of centre-backs that Manchester United have ever had.

They always play in a back four, because that's the way Manchester United and the Premier League do things. Their heading prowess is their greatest strength, and they concede very few headed goals.

But that's not the way Barcelona play. As Bill Shankly once said, football is a game meant to be played on the ground. Xavi, Iniesta and Messi understand that; so does David Villa—and he's the nearest thing they have to a "striker."

So in Rome and at Wembley, Ferdinand and Vidic had no headed set-pieces to deal with and were confronted with attacks on the ground. If the "containing two" didn't do their job, United were in trouble. United's attacking players became sucked into the middle of the park; they were too narrow, and Antonio Valencia was anonymous.

The great thing about Ferdinand is that he is a footballing defender; so are Chris Smalling and Phil Jones. Even Jonny Evans is often seen marauding.

So, if Barcelona aren't going to attack in the air and are going to seek to dominate midfield, United should play just three at the back.

Assuming Ferdinand is fit, Vidic would be the pivot of defence, flanked by Ferdinand and Evra, with Smalling and Evans in reserve.

4. Play Two Ball-Winners in Midfield

In their two losing finals to Barcelona, United played a containing formation in midfield. It didn't work.

Instead, it invited Barca to attack. The area in front of the penalty area became overcrowded, and there was only going to be one winner.

But with a fluid, attacking 3-5-2 format becoming 3-2-3-2, United can afford two ball-winning players in front of defence, especially if they are also mobile.

While Phil Jones has been bought as a future replacement for Vidic or Ferdinand, Ferguson also has an eye on his potential as a defensive midfielder. In a different era, he could have played the Franz Beckenbauer or Lothar Matthaus role of sweeper. Jones is very strong in the tackle and in the air, and has great pace and strength and the skill to break forward.

Darren Fletcher showed he is pretty much back to full match fitness with an excellent driving display for Scotland. He also is able to contain and to break forward.

So, the heart of a midfield five would be Fletcher and Jones. United may not be able to keep the ball as well as Barcelona, but they can certainly do better at winning it back.

5. Wayne Rooney: United's Messi

Lionel Messi is the best footballer in the world.

He is given a licence to roam for Barcelona. When you don't play a conventional format and have a player of his skill, it is hard to defend against. He can pop up anywhere and score goals for fun.

Wayne Rooney can be even more important for Manchester United. He can do anything Messi can, but he can also do things Messi can't.

He is now a consummate header of the ball, brushing even John Terry aside to score for England last week. He can tackle. He often seems to be all over the pitch. He can win the ball deep in midfield and break from the back. He can launch a pinpoint 50-yard pass. When running with the ball, he can inspire the whole team. He is pivotal to United's fortunes in the next 10 years.

And he is in the form of his life, having already scored seven times in his last four senior matches. He above all can fill the gap that Paul Scholes left, playing behind the strikers and orchestrating the play as Scholes did at his best.

United are at their best breaking fast from midfield. Rooney can take the ball that Jones or Fletcher have won and burst through the middle, giving the wingers time to get wide and the strikers time to get in position. As the pivot of the team, he can turn 3-5-2 into 3-2-3-2.

When attacks break down, he has the ability to win the ball back early. Sitting ahead of the two ball-winners, he should have the licence to play anywhere across the park, all the way to the 16-yard box. He can scare Barcelona's vulnerable defence.

6. Play with Width: Nani and Young

While Manchester United played nominally with two wingers at Wembley, Ji-Sung Park was part of a tackling, holding midfield, and once Antonio Valencia had been sucked into the melee from his wing, he became completely anonymous.

When that happened, United's prime attacking strategy became Edwin van der Sar's boot, seeking out an equally anonymous Chicharito. The team was collectively suckered into letting Barcelona play they way they wanted to; the defence had an easy ride, and Barcelona's ball-playing midfield ran the show.

And yet in both the 2009 and 2011 finals, United showed how the match could have been won. They set off to attack the Barcelona defence. If Ronaldo had scored early in 2009, the result could have been different, but once the Reds had yielded possession and conceded the first goal, the match was all but over.

So how could it be different next time? The format we have suggested gives United more control in midfield and more attacking options.

With Ashley Young on the left and Nani on the right, they have two players who can run defences ragged; confine Barcelona's attacking full backs to their own half; score goals from anywhere; and, above all, tackle and win the ball back.

Serviced by Wayne Rooney from the middle, they have the ability to impose United's preferred attacking football style on the match, knowing they are supported by a mobile defence with two ball-playing, ball-winning players in front of it.

7. Use United's Height

While United's central defence in both finals was set up to win aerial balls in the penalty area, Barcelona played the game on the ground.

Meanwhile, at the other end, in the absence of Puyol, Barcelona had only one recognised centre-back and two dedicated wing-backs. They were there for the taking if United had used their width and height.

Assuming that the two ball-winners do their job, United would have more possession and, with Rooney running the game, Nani and Young can afford to be where they need to be, creating width, running the wings, attacking the defence and feeding the goalscorers.

While at almost every set-piece Barcelona passed the ball to feet—even at corners—United have enough players who are outstanding in the air to put Barcelona's defence under pressure at set-pieces, but also when their keeper has the ball.

One of David De Gea's great qualities is his distribution. He can kick the ball as far as van der Sar, but with pinpoint accuracy, feeding the wings or putting it on the head of a tall striker.

Other potential headed goal-scorers include Ferdinand, Vidic, Rooney and Jones. And in attack, Ferguson's most glaring omission at Wembley was Dimitar Berbatov.

8. Chicharito, Berbatov and Owen

While Javier Hernandez (Chicharito) was hardly a surprise as a starter in the Final at Wembley, Dimitar Berbatov's complete omission from the squad was a total shock.

Sure, Rooney and Hernandez had formed an unbeatable combination for the latter part of last season, but the way Manchester United set up for the final against Barcelona and the way the match was played meant the Mexican became peripheral to the action.

By the time United were desperate, the primary attacking strategy became van der Sar's boot but, with Barcelona playing very high up the field, Chicharito was caught offside and was never able to get behind the defence.

Chicharito thrives on service, but with Park as an extra holding midfielder and Valencia sucked into the middle, he wasn't going to get any.

Worse still, United didn't have an "out," and this is where, in my opinion, Sir Alex made his biggest mistake.

Berbatov is a consummate ball-winner in the air. He is also a target to relieve midfield because when you hit the ball at him, he wins it, holds it up, allows other players to move forward and uses it. He also scores goals—21 in all last season.

He frustrates some fans with his languid running style, but he covers the ground with deceptive ease and has ball skills to match any player on either team.

United should play Berbatov in support of Hernandez. They have an excellent understanding and, given the opportunity, the Mexican is a naturally instinctive finisher.

Meanwhile, waiting in the wings is his mentor. Chicharito looks so much like a young Michael Owen. While the latter doesn't have 90 minutes in his legs any more, he is also a natural-born goalscorer and has shown already for United he can be a match-winner coming off the bench. Both of them know how to get behind Latin defences.

Summary: Youth, Experience, Energy and Flair

The Manchester United team that thrashed Arsenal 8-2 had an average age of 23.

The first-choice team we have advocated here has a mix of youth, experience, energy and flair. De Gea, Jones and Hernandez are around 20, while Berbatov, Evra, Ferdinand, Fletcher and Vidic average around 30.

Wayne Rooney represents the future of the team in many respects. Young in his legs, mature in his head, he is blessed with pace, skill and flair.

Nani and Ashley Young can torment any defence and score goals for fun.

Meanwhile, on the bench, the manager could call on Lindegaard, Smalling, Rafael, Park, Cleverly, Owen and Welbeck.

Sir Alex Ferguson has given Barcelona too much respect in the past, setting up for containment and counter-attack rather than United's traditional "in your face" attacking football.

Against Arsenal last weekend, he played a 4-4-2 formation that tore their big rivals apart. It could easily have been 14 or 15 goals. Apart from two or three players, the Gunners had no idea what to do.

Barcelona are arguably the best ball-playing team in the world. They play quick to feet and dominate possession. You have to get the ball off them to play.

But their style leaves question marks about their defence—especially down the flanks, in the air and at set-pieces.

The team and format proposed in this article sets out to meet all the above challenges and end Barcelona's dominance in Europe.