Manchester United perenially seem like one loss away from an inquest and panic mode overtaking the club from outside.
That loss arrived away to Brighton in their most recent league game as they fell 2-1 courtesy of Joao Pedro’s late winner.
While there was much to like about the overall performance, defensive breakdowns in communications caused both goals, while an extremely unfortunate turn of events ruled out Alejandro Garnacho’s goal.
Next up for Erik ten Hag’s men is the marquee fixture of English football- Manchester United vs Liverpool, and Gary Neville thinks a big change is coming for that one.
Gary Neville predicts Erik ten Hag change vs Liverpool
So far, Ten Hag has persisted with the system that gave him great results near the end of last season, culminating in the FA Cup win.
That continued into this season, and another good performance against Manchester City was only undone by a lack of clinical finishing.
The story against Fulham was similar and the display vs Brighton showed signs of progress too. However, a clear weakness has emerged, one which Neville says needs to be addressed quickly and it could come as soon as the next game vs Liverpool.
He said: “The balance isn’t right. That 4-2-2-2 which Erik ten Hag is going with, I don’t mind it but I would’ve thought Amad and Rashford would be split striker in a box midfield. But we’re finding at times that those two are so wide they’ve got nothing up front at all.
“He [Ten Hag] had to correct it at half-time, and he has to correct it vs Fulham in the second half as well. I’d expect next week they’re gonna change the system vs Liverpool.
“It’s very difficult to play football without a centre-forward. It’s almost as if they gave away the first half. They didn’t play badly but it was nothing really. United’s game began at half-time.” [United comments start near 21.00]
Time to bin the system?
The 4-2-2-2 system with fluid forwards has given United good results and certainly better shape out of possession but it must be noted that it was brought near the end of last season with the very specific purpose of countering Manchester City.
It allowed United numbers in midfield to tackle City’s press and overwhelm them with their own. Persisting with it against teams happy to cede possession leads to chinks showing in the armour.
The biggest one is, as Neville says, a lack of a focal point to play off of. The game against Liverpool might not be the ideal one to bin the system but Arne Slot’s Liverpool aren’t the same as Jurgen Klopp’s.
They showed against Ipswich that they can mix it up as per their opponent as they quickly went to playing over Ipswich’s press once they realised their opponents were squeezing the pitch with their press.
Therefore, United might be best served by simplifying their system, playing with a conventional striker in Zirkzee, and going back to the basics.
That decision might actually have been taken out of Ten Hag’s hands anyway if Mason Mount’s injury vs Brighton forces him to miss out.
That could be a blessing in disguise as United can’t afford to play without a focal point anymore due to their lack of quality finishing.
As for the trade-off out of possession, having more numbers to press isn’t a sustainable solution to doing it better. Implementing a pattern of pressing is.
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