Manchester United have struggled to fit the creativity of Juan Mata, Bruno Fernandes and Donny van de Beek into the same starting line up this season.
When the team was announced to take on Istanbul Basaksehir, it was a sign Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was ready to be aggressive.
The problem was Solskjaer went too top heavy. In front of Mata, Fernandes and Van de Beek were Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.
On another day against another opponent, this attacking front five would have been too strong.
But against Istanbul Basaksehir the tactic backfired spectacularly, with the unbalanced line up exposed.
So does this mean United should never play Mata, Fernandes and Van de Beek in the same starting line up again? Not necessarily.
One tactical tweak
United may have finally selected the right trio of players – but selected the wrong formation.
Testing out such an attacking combination in a European away game was naive from Solskjaer. These are usually cagey games and United opened the game up from the first minute.
Playing Mata, Van de Beek and Fernandes behind one striker, instead of two, could be far more effective.
While this may seem somewhat illogical, the reason is simple, because it enable United to play a two-man holding midfield behind them.
Van de Beek and Mata did not get the ball in the right areas because they both had to drop deep to go and get it.
Not having them high up the pitch in turn impacted Bruno Fernandes’ game.
Going with a 4-2-3-1 formation with all three can work in certain situations.
The downside is it limits United’s attacking choice – with just one spot for Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani, Mason Greenwood, and Anthony Martial.
It is for this reason that the trio we saw on Wednesday night may not be repeated any time soon.
But United should not give up on it or just throw it out, because the trio were not put in the right circumstances to succeed.
If the three players get another chance to start together, with two midfielders behind them to better balance the team, this could be a dangerous combination which has far bigger impact next time.
- Mateus Fernandes deal could make Ederson an absolutely crucial player for Man Utd in a very different way
- Alongside Mateus Fernandes, super agent Jorge Mendes could bring another midfielder to Man Utd
- Analysing Ayyoub Bouaddi’s style of play: ‘Elegant’ midfielder is perfect for Man United
- €60m Marc Cucurella deal could trigger domino effect that is terrible for Manchester United
- Man Utd are about to have a proud academy moment in the World Cup involving Hannibal
- Man Utd fans decide between signing Mateus Fernandes or Elliot Anderson this summer
- Carlo Ancelotti explains why Matheus Cunha was dropped for Brazil’s World Cup opener
- What Man Utd’s data department has decided about £85m target Mateus Fernandes
- How Ruben Amorim taking over at AC Milan saves Man Utd millions, figures explained
- Why Kobbie Mainoo is the biggest winner from Casemiro’s World Cup disaster with Brazil
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
