In the 35th round of the 2021-22 Premier League season, Manchester United took on promoted Mabraentford at the Dream Theatre. It was United's final game of the season at Old Trafford and the perfect stage for the Red Devils to prove themselves to new boss Tenhag.
In this game, Lonnick put Mata in the front waist position, and it was this clever move that activated Manchester United! United's formation, called 4231, is actually very flexible in practice, switching back and forth between the 4222 and 442 diamond-shaped midfields, leaving Brentford at a loss. As can be seen from the heat zone map, Mata's footprints cover almost the entire midfield. Under the needle-and-needle guidance of the Spanish veteran, Manchester United has done a very smooth job in the offensive and defensive conversion.
It is no exaggeration to say that this is a rare wonderful performance of Manchester United during the Ronnick era. As the fans lamented: "If Manchester United had played like this earlier, the top 4 would have been there long ago." ”
Tactically, on the offensive end, Ronnick changed his tactics of clinging to 2 crosses from the side, thus increasing the penetration of the middle. We can see that United played a lot of short passes in front of the field today. The most impressive thing was the combination of a short pass between three people launched by Manchester United on the left side of the first half in the 25th minute of the first half. From Cristiano Ronaldo, McTominay, to Elanga, and back to Cristiano Ronaldo, although in the end Ronaldo's fall did not win a penalty, such an attack was very rare in the Ronnick era, and this game was more than once.
In addition, Manchester United added a point that Mata can take the ball on the offensive end, enriching the routine, and Brentford's defense can only be passively beaten, taking care of one or the other.
Defensively, United firmly followed up on Lonnick's high-post pressing tactics. Unlike in the past, the Manchester United players have carried out very thoroughly this time. Manchester United players fought back on the spot after losing a goal in front of the field, without the slightest hesitation. And the overall coordination between the players is very good, not like the past, one player to force, the other players are waiting. Under the unity of the whole team, Manchester United today is a significant leader in steals, interceptions and confrontation success rates.
Defensively, today the most accolades are to be given to McTominay. The Manchester United academy midfielder played very aggressively in this game, sprinting with all his might in the return defence and passing decisively and bravely. The match sent 7 clearances, 2 blocks, 2 interceptions and 3 confrontations. What is even more rare is that his passing success rate is as high as 97.5%, sweeping away the image of the previous brown brother. With his barrier role in midfield, Nemanja Matic can focus more on the offensive end.
In addition, B Fee also played a warming battle. In this game, he reduced his risky passes, and the pass success rate reached 88.5%. After focusing on the impact on the penalty area, he also scored goals.
And Ronaldo is as strong as ever, fully engaged in both offensive and defensive ends. He is definitely not a Problem for United, but the one who solves it. As long as the manager's tactics are appropriate and other players also show a positive attitude, Ronaldo can still bring irreplaceable influence to the team. In the game, we saw Ronaldo with a smile on his face, obviously, he was enjoying the game and it was the most comfortable game he played since he returned to Manchester United.
With a 3-0 win, United delivered a satisfactory record in their final home game of the season. In addition, veterans Mata, Matic and Cavani all got the opportunity to play, which was a perfect ending. But we are more looking forward to this as a good omen for the coming of the Tenghag era. Manchester United is not unable to play the performance of the giants, but the momentum and attitude of the giants. If the whole team works together and excludes interference, our performance will be even higher.