Analysis of Manchester Uniteds performance against Everton (EPL) Although it was a hard-fought battle and I thought Everton were very disciplined (except for Lukaku,) I really enjoyed seeing what I think I saw and that now I share with you.Defensive cooperation between Rafael and Valencia: I absolutely loved this. Until around minute 60, they effectively disrupted Evertons threat on Uniteds right side with discipline and coordination. What you can see here reflects the core idea: Valencia marks the player in the inside channel (Pienaar), while Rafael covers the player whos going wide (Baines); both mark at a distance so that their respective rivals cant sprint behind them to receive the ball, cant create space for themselves with the ball, nor run deep with the ball; as the ball goes to Baines, keep an eye on how Valencia mirrors Pienaars movement and Rafael keeps his focus on his man; as Rafael gets closer to the ball, Valencia joins in to press and if theres a 1-2, Rafael follows his man. I know this isnt necessarily exceptional on its own, but I thought it was remarkable how they kept their discipline, concentration and energy to do it as many times as it was necessary, for around 60 minutes and against a respectable left side attack (Baines + Pienaar + Lukaku.)Smart fouls and strong presence: Personally, I was very pleased to see a change in something that was a hot topic after Leicesters match. Heres what happened the very first time Baines tried to run with the ball. This foul not only sent an early message to Baines, but it also stopped the game for 21 seconds, more than enough for the team to get ready for the free kick. In this sequence, we can see a good and simple example of the intelligence and intensity Manchester United showed at times trying to recover the ball and/or stopping Evertons attacks. But heres Valencia again, stopping a possible counter attack with a simple, non-violent foul that didnt cost a yellow and delayed the game for 15 seconds. Heres what happened after Gareth Barrys very first strong challenge. I havent seen this a lot after Sir Alex left: a strong physical presence thats not really dirty. The players simply committed to the challenges and said were not taking any messing, which I imagine was one of the reasons why they werent treated like pushovers. United needed that, and yesterday they got it.Patrick McNairs stats and general comments: I just thought I should mention this. According to opta, McNair completed 1/1 tackles in near the box; he made 3 interceptions, 5/5 clearances, won 1/1 aerial duels and blocked 1 cross. For a huge part of the game, he had Lukaku pretty much in his pocket. Now, if hes able to cancel the possible next-big-thing in attack, why couldnt he be a possible next-big-thing in defense? He showed strength, good positioning, concentration and composure on the ball. At times, I saw him as a younger version of Javi Martínez when he played as CB in Athletic Bilbao. Turns out, McNair is/was actually a center midfielder. This leads me to a series of connections, because it was Bielsa who deployed Martínez as CB; Bielsa is a follower of van Gaals methods and philosophies since Louis was managing Ajax; today, Bielsa is managing Marseille in France, and after a somewhat shaky start to the season that lead to his being a bit questioned, he said that the team just needed some time to adjust; after 9 matches, they are now sitting on top of the league, 7 points away from PSG (3rd place) and with a goal difference of +15. Im not even entirely sure what Im getting at with this, but since many of their methods are similar and they have a lot of parallels, I thought it was at least some food for thought.Valencia opening space: Finally, Id like to show you a detail that I loved. In this sequence, Valencia uses his body to create the line of pass to Rafael that Blind requested, a resource we dont see too often. But what I found most important is how the play ended. See for yourself. The other replays Ive seen dont include Valencias silent cooperation, and I think it goes to show how these very minute things can have a real, tangible impact on the game.From De Geas heroic saves to the fact that United ended up winning with 4 academy players on the field (+2 on the bench,) I saw glimpses of the hunger and luck that champions have. Mata and Falcao were largely irrelevant for huge portions of the match, but they had a strong impact anyway. Shaw made several mistakes, but De Gea canceled the most important of them all. Herrera wasnt available, but United used that to their advantage and effectively blocked Evertons left side. They managed to protect the lead and are now in 4th place. Getting the job done, one day at a time.Thank you all for reading and adding to the discussion. Have a good week!
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 19:19:14 +0000
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