Manchester United are breathing again in the Premier League as they broke their five-game winless run with a 2-1 vs Brentford at Old Trafford.
The win relieves some pressure from Erik ten Hag, especially with a tricky run of fixtures coming and despite an overall good United performance, it wasn’t straightforward.
Brentford looked extremely comfortable in the first half and their goal at the stroke of half-time was deserved reward.
Manchester United were nullified completely and their midfield was too easy to play through in the first half in a deja vu experience for the Man Utd fans.
However, United looked like a different outfit in the second half as they laid siege to Brentford’s goal, with the visitors lucky that the scoreline was only 2-1.
So, what changed in the second half? Ten Hag finally showed some tactical flexibility, and a single change unleashed the full potential of the squad.
Erik ten Hag’s tactical change powers Man Utd vs Brentford
Brentford’s midfield three were on song in the first half, while Diogo Dalot and Lisandro Martinez were being dragged inside and out by the wingers.
Thomas Frank’s side easily played out of the back every time they had the ball and United committing bodies forward to press backfired when they came up short.
It allowed Brentford to run into acres of open space after playing through the press and put the United defenders under immense pressure.
In the second half, Ten Hag addressed this and tried to win the midfield battle not by subbing in another midfielder or asking his pivot to stay tight, but by changing a player’s role.
Diogo Dalot, despite playing on his stronger right side, was asked to come inside and make underlapping runs in attack, and contribute to the buildup.
Playing as an inverted fullback, he added an extra body in the middle which allowed the likes of Casemiro and Eriksen to run forward and help the front four in the press.
United could effectively press with six players and when Brentford were stuck on the wings, even the fullback joined in, making it impossible for them to play out.
The team won countless balls near Brentford’s half as a result and the sustained pressure paid off as United scored twice and could have added even more.
Ten Hag finally shows flexibility
Ten Hag’s stubbornness has been the biggest cause of frustration among the fans because he has shown clearly in his first season that he can get his side playing winning football.
Since abandoning that system, he has stuck to his guns and batted back all criticism of his style by pointing to his two trophies won in two years at Old Trafford.
Furthermore, it has happened numerous times where he just lets the game drift instead of being proactive and making changes to stem the flow of momentum.
Therefore, changing Dalot’s role at half-time from a traditional overlapping fullback to an inverted one shows growth since he finally accepted he was being outwitted and made changes to address it.
It is even more interesting because Dalot as an inverted fullback from the left side had started backfiring in games before the international break.
So to bring that move back, this time from the right, to counter a specific problem caused by Brentford is precisely the game management fans have been wanting to see from the Dutchman.
Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come because the fixtures are only getting tougher from here on, starting with Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
