Manchester United vs. Liverpool: Tactical Review of Premier League Game
Manchester United affirmed their 2014-15 dominance over a flailing Liverpool side on Sunday, beating them 3-0 at Old Trafford.
Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Juan Mata all got on the scoresheet—coincidentally, it's the first time all three have ever scored in the same league match for United—and Raheem Sterling missed three one vs. ones for Liverpool.
Let's take a tactical look at this game and see what happened.
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Formations and XIs
Manchester United played a 3-5-2; Marouane Fellaini and Rooney in a flat central midfield, Mata as a No. 10 and James Wilson partnering Van Persie in attack. Michael Carrick played at centre-back.
Liverpool also opted for a three-man defensive line, playing a 3-4-3 shape that included Raheem Sterling as a No. 9 (not false). Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana played as functional attacking midfielders and not true wingers, so it could be described as a 3-4-2-1.
1. A Word on Liverpool's Formation
Brendan Rodgers was the king of tactical tinkering in 2013-14, with every tweak resulting in success. This year has been the complete opposite, and the formation choice was certainly funky here. It possessed some odd traits, such as:
- Narrow wingers acting as part-trequartistas and part-widemen
- A lightweight, slow midfield two vs. a bigger, stronger, fitter midfield three
- Jordan Henderson at right-wing-back
- Glen Johnson at centre-back
Hardly an inspiring setup, in truth, and from the scoreline, you can guess exactly how it fared.
2. Valencia vs. Moreno
Valencia, playing emergency right wing-back again while Rafael is out injured, was key to Manchester United's progress forward in the first half.
Where both sides failed to string together true quality in the middle of the park, the Ecuador international was able to run right at Alberto Moreno and beat him one vs. one. The systematic clash between two three-man defences and a complete lack of wingers meant they went face-to-face on the touchlines, and Moreno came off worst every time.
The Spaniard took a lot of flak from fans from another lacklustre showing, but his team-mates didn't exactly help. Dejan Lovren was frequently caught double-marking Martin Skrtel's marker and neglecting his duties as a wide centre-back who is supposed to slide out and cover the gaps.
If Moreno has this much space behind him and Valencia can see it, the latter is going to knock it and run every time. He beat him twice before finally striking gold in the third attempt (in just 12 minutes!), cutting the ball across the box for Rooney to Frank Lampard it into the corner on the run.
3. Losing the Midfield Battle
With Mata playing as a No. 10, the midfield battle in the first half was essentially two vs. two. Rooney and Fellaini vs. Steven Gerrard and Joe Allen.
With six centre-backs on the pitch and four wing-backs, the central zones weren't crowded, and there was an unusually large amount of room to play in. It was impossible to press with so few in such a big area, so the two who won were always going to be the two who a) made the least mistakes and b) endured the longest.
In these scenarios, the fitter, stronger, more mobile pair are going to be victorious, and this was the case with Fellaini and Rooney. Although United's wing-backs played some bad hospital balls into no man's land on occasion, Rooney swept up in there and dominated the centre of the park.
By contrast, Gerrard was absolutely anonymous and Allen bullied a little at times. The pair completely failed in tracking all game, most notably for the goal. Here it is broken down:
It's a similar attack to the one referenced above when discussing Lovren's positioning, although the Croatian is in a mildly better spot this time.
Once Valencia has beaten Allen and Lallana (and Moreno!) with ease, two things should have immediately happened: First, Lovren slides out to meet him, and second, Gerrard drops in to sit ball-side of Van Persie.
If this had happened, Valencia would have met resistance rather than take his time to pick a pass. It also would have meant that Gerrard would be in the spot highlighted, and between the two, many of Valencia's angles would have been shut down.
With Allen disengaged due to filtering wide, Gerrard was the only central midfielder left. As a perennial scorer of exactly these types of goals, he should know Rooney—or any other United man with an inkling of nous—will be arriving on the edge of the box to offer an out.
It happens, United score.
Liverpool Attacks
Three-nil is a one-sided scoreline, but this wasn't an entirely one-sided affair. Sterling missed three one vs. ones with David De Gea—all chances he created for himself—and Mario Balotelli saw a shot deflected on to the bar.
The promising thing here was that Sterling up front restored some of the verve in the forward line that's been missing. Specifically, when United settled into a low block, the Englishman provided some of the spark on the edge of the box that's much needed; his tight turns and cuts created two chances at the near post.
When Balotelli came on at half-time, Liverpool switched to a 3-4-3/3-4-1-2, with Coutinho drifting from inside to out (right) and Sterling splitting wide (left) from a central position. It was balanced, easy on the ball and dominated small patches.
Odds & Ends
- Sterling played as a true No. 9 in the first half, not as a false nine. The difference between them is gauged largely by the eye, but given the high position Sterling maintained and the pressing he carried out on Carrick and Co., his role did not replicate that of a F9.
- Carrick was brilliant despite not being featured in this analysis too heavily.
- The fact that Balotelli and Sterling played well in proximity in the second half might convince Rodgers to try a diamond again soon. Fans can hope.
- Wilson ran, pressed, ran, pressed and ran some more—impressive work rate and speed—but did very little. Zonal Marking suggested his runs weren't of the highest calibre; Radamel Falcao came on late to prove the chasm between the two.
- David De Gea: Are you serious?
