Once again, United, after performing well in the first half and leading into the midfield lounge, were equalised by a blitz at the start of the second half. At the same time, as the game progressed, Manchester United also lost the sharpness of the first half at both ends of the attack and defense, showing a full range of chaos.
Lonnick and the Manchester United players have encountered great harshness, but this essentially reflects a problem: the overall structure of the players is not in line with Lonnick's philosophy.
Looking back now, the tactical trigger that led to Sochaux's dismissal was high-level pressing. The basis of the Lonnick system is also this link. After Pogba returned from injury, he made good use of the advantages of the French star, but in the case of obvious concerns, Lonnick's "inherent thinking" has exceeded the actual situation of the team.
[Pogba brings quality, but can't solve the substantive problem]
After Pogba's return, Lonnick gave him more responsibilities at the tactical level: confrontation, tandem. Against Burnley and the Saints, Pogba has completed 39 confrontations (22 successful), 12 long passes (9 successful) and 7 violations.
On the offensive end, Pogba's comprehensive quality did show an "upgrade" to Fred, and the positive effect was very obvious.
Figure 1+2+3: Pogba's consecutive matches provide confrontation and tandem in midfield
Pogba and B Fee have built a better organization and scheduling together in front of Wheat, and Manchester United can indeed play a smoother way of thinking in the game. Attackers such as Sancho frequently get room to play, and United can also complete an effective impact attack.
But the "double-edged sword" nature of this strategy is also obvious.
On the one hand, Pogba has never practiced the defensive skills and positioning of the back, on the other hand, the loss of Fred's mobile point, Manchester United in response to the impact, can not follow the defense in the high position, as long as the opponent sends an effective pass, the lack of up-to-grab Manchester United centre-backs will continue to expose the problem.
Figure 4+5: Manchester United's double high back problem erupted, and the lack of restrictions at the high level led to the impact of the defensive line
The issue of double-high backs has long been discussed, and now this "familiar" scene is back in The Manchester United game.
Especially against saints, Manchester United's shot in the first half changed from 4-0 to 5-7 behind, the essence of which is that the high level after the decline in physical fitness cannot limit the opponent's pass, resulting in increasing pressure on the defensive line. The decline in physical fitness, the essence is still the consumption of high pressure in the front court, the lack of pressure quality and awareness of players, which further aggravates the outbreak of the problem.
[Ronnick's stubbornness allowed him to speed up into the "pit" of Sochaux's class? 】
Lonnick has recently stressed that United lost the sharpness they should have had in the first half in the second half, but this essentially exposed a problem: his philosophy did not fit in with The United's current squad structure.
Recall that the reason for Sochaux's dismissal was not only his temporary inability to integrate new elements of United's frontcourt into the system and complete the upgrade. Moreover, there is also his high pressing beyond the reality of Manchester United: whether it is the quality of the players or the willingness, these players of the Red Devils have some problems.
What is the effect of Lonnick's "tough" insistence? It is The transition attrition of Manchester United that brings a better start, but the follow-up will be completely chaotic, and then De Gea and the defensive players with shortcomings will be "beaten".
Figure 6+7: Manchester United's frenzied pressing has many flaws in the effect
The two presses in the picture above, the pressure of the Manchester United players is very large, and eventually formed a successful confrontation that drags the back of the wheat. But if you look closely, Manchester United will always show a deficiency in the displacement of a "individual", resulting in the embarrassment of a player who needs to take care of the other 2 in part. As a result, the scene where the Saints were given a turn to score the ball was essentially masked in the first half by United's dominance on the offensive end.
Once the over-consumption shows a lack of physical fitness, the United players' willingness to run and assist in the defense will have problems, and then the problem will erupt.
Figure 8: Manchester United conceded goals in this match
The high-level pressing in front of Manchester United showed a "synergy flaw", and others and B fees are not in the same "channel". Coupled with the fact that the full-backs did not pre-empt, the Saints found the full-back through the goalkeeper's diagonal pass to complete the high position. In this case, Pogba motioned for Rashford in front of him to defend himself, as he needed to juggle Eryunussi behind him. But Rashford didn't pull back quickly, resulting in Pogba and Dalot not forming an effective interference under the opponent's pass schedule, allowing the Saints to send a direct plug by Che Adams to shoot into the far corner.
What is the contrast? It was after Manchester United lost the ball that the follow-up formed a better pressure, see the static screenshot below:
Figure 9: Full-back Darot presupposes pressure to circumvent the above problems
【Conclusion】
From a personal point of view, if Lonnick does not make tactical "compromises" according to the actual situation of the team, or adjust the starting lineup, it is difficult for United to avoid the situation against Burnley and Saints. Even after the return of Pogba, he showed a relatively good competitive state and good mental attributes, but he could not improve.
A further effect of Lonnick's stubbornness is that the United defence continues to encounter the onslaught of opponents after the lack of pressure in the midfield. Maguire, who lacks the ability to turn around and exercise, has recently exposed his shortcomings and has his own problems, but he can't point everything at him. Because, football is a team sport.