With injuries in the air, United drew 1-1 at home to Chelsea thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's goal. In the eventful autumn, the Red Devils did not lose the strong dialogue, which is definitely an acceptable result.
The structure of United's starting staff largely determines the loss of possession and the impact of Chelsea's width. Elanga, which can run on the flanks, becomes a point that must be "consumed". Under constant pressure, C Ronaldo returned more to the wing than Rashford to defend, which is a "replica" of the past strategy. But the reality is very harsh, and Rashford, who is now in an undervalued period of physical and state, has not fulfilled expectations.
[From left to right, Ellanga incarnates as Daniel James]
Tuchel's tactical philosophy is very recognizable: possession, width work, to support the side rib impact or cross.
Throughout the first half, The past range of activity was huge, with more close to the left. One of the tactical purposes was to press Elam back. Because, in the context of C Ronaldo's continuous expansion of the scope of activities, Elanga's running on the right side or even the middle of the adduction road can support the balance of the front field to a certain extent.
Figure 1: Static screenshots of Erlanga's frequent return to defensive positions, with a heat map from the first half
This kind of co-defense, which copied the DJ of the year, did not completely defuse Chelsea's attack. Because, Tuchel's team has enough offensive breadth. First, through the strategy of Havertz and Kanter, a horizontal transfer can be achieved; second, through the high-level scheduling transfer, it can allow Reese James to get the opportunity to impact.
As a result, Reese James was the most brilliant and comfortable player in the whole first half.
Fig. 2+3: Chelsea's wide-width operation, Reese James is in the water
In response to Reece James' impact on the right, United made two adjustments: first, Erlanga came to the left in the second half; second, in the first half, increased the defense of the back and gradually increased the back defense of the front.
However, such an adjustment presents a gradually "deformed" situation in terms of perception---- C Ronaldo has more defense than Rashford. why?
[Deformed defense, in order to gamble on the "past" Rashford]
Marked by the 36th minute of the first half, Cristiano Ronaldo's protection of the team's left rib defense increased. Let's look at a gif:
Figure 4: Cristiano Ronaldo returns from high to the wing to defend (1.5x speed)
Figure 5: Rashford (above left) versus C Ronaldo (top right) heat map
In addition to this visible active defense, the position on the front line is also worthy of "consideration": Rashford began to come to the middle. What is the purpose of this? Hit a quick shock under pressure.
We all know that in the Sochaux era, United attached great importance to Rashford's vertical impact in the strong dialogue. This kind of impact play that grasps the opponent's defensive space has won many key victories.
But can Rashford, who is still "digesting" stress fractures, cash in on his past successes in a state of state, confident and confused? Hard. Similarly, United's current defence has failed to provide effective defensive protection, ultimately exacerbating the problem.
Figure 6: Panoramic view of United's goal conceded
We can split United's goals conceded:
First, after De Gea got Werner's cross, he did not control the rhythm, but directly kicked off. Looking for Rashford, who is rushing forward. But today's Rashford, in terms of impact rhythm and ball competition, can not be compared with before.
Second, United's follow-up defense, due to the opening of the width, presented an inherent problem - the back was gradually pulled, and the middle was handed over to B Fei. As a result, Chelsea can complete the lateral transfer with relative ease. Rashford, who bore the deep impact, and C Ronaldo, whose range of activities increased and was constantly recovered before, naturally could not bring protection to the perimeter defense.
Third, Erlanga, who came to the left to assist Reece James, was caught in a dilemma. His premise, directly for the opponent to grasp, Reese James got the empty cross space he wanted.
Fourth, Chelsea pulled away the offensive breadth of the field, and Havertz completed a targeted header from this high point. Marcos Alonso, who was in the middle of the box, completed a brilliant shot and De Gea's goal was pierced.
【Conclusion】
After conceding the ball, Manchester United, relying on the "staged" high pressing of this game, finally formed an opportunity, and Matic picked out the pass to assist Ronaldo to score. This is a superstar like Cristiano Ronaldo, and a veteran like Nemanja Matic, a show of value.
With a tie-break, Chelsea replaced Havertz for Lukaku, meaning they had to tackle the ground. Manchester United's replacement of Marcus Rashford is also a denial of the deployment in the game. In the end, neither side continued to create a deep threat, and the draw ended.
From Lonnick to Tenhag, United have shown a posture of "embracing" the mainland mindset. But it's not easy to rebuild truly deeply. An important "grasp" is to force "backwards" through the iteration of the lineup. After all, the problems with the structure of Manchester United's squad today are very obvious.