A repeat of the 2018 final did not disappoint. Chelsea’s versatile 3-4-3 system gave Frank Lampard’s team superiority down the channels, both on and off the ball. Manchester United did not get a sniff, as Chelsea confirmed their place in this year’s FA Cup final.  Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker. Though these […]

Southampton flew out of the blocks, pressing aggressively in their 4-4-2 shape to control the early proceedings. Manchester United eventually responded, but typical issues emerged in possession. The guests then reorganized, piled on the pressure, and found their reward in the dying embers of the game. Tactical analysis by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere. Manchester United have been […]

A hodgepodge starting eleven coupled with a lack of attacking intent handcuffed Brighton from minute one. A much more astute Manchester United midfield – replete with Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes – took full advantage.  Tactical analysis and match report by K.T. Stockwell. Four points from two matches since the restart, including a thrilling late […]

United were the more assertive team from the early stages of the game but were unable to make much of their possession share. Steven Bergwijn was suddenly able to take advantage of some slack United defending to put Spurs 1-0 up just before half an hour. United continued struggling in the second half until Paul […]

Manchester City had the majority of the ball and at times outplayed Manchester United in midfield. Once they reached the final third, City lacked ideas against United’s five-man defense though. At the other end they struggled to deal with United’s direct passing and counterattacks. In the end United won 2-0 with both goals involving errors […]

Both Everton and Manchester United had good periods throughout the game, but neither side could truly capitalize in these moments. Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s tactical change to a diamond midfield gave them an important overload in midfield. However Ancelotti’s team responded in the second half and thought they had a 92nd minute winner, only for VAR […]

Pep Guardiola experimented with an unorthodox interpretation of a 3-4-2-1 system as City hosted United in the EFL Cup. Although City dominated the early proceedings, United opened the scoring through Nemanja Matić, after which City showed some nervousness in their play and made some clumsy errors. Nevertheless, City were still the overall better team in […]

Manchester United came to Anfield seemingly looking to replicate the game plan that earned them a draw against Liverpool earlier in the season, with a 5-2-1-2 system from which to counterattack Jürgen Klopp’s side. Liverpool grabbed an early lead through Virgil van Dijk’s header though, and limited United to very little on the counter. In […]

Manchester United were thoroughly outplayed as City were able to create overloads in midfield as well as finding plenty of space to progress the ball on the right flank. In the second half United changed their setup, which improved their play in and out of possession, but it was not enough to recover from the […]

Both sides struggled to make ends meet in their regular shapes, most likely down to necessary personnel changes following a hectic winter schedule. Second half reinforcements only did so much to invigorate an affair which had overseen very few chances. Tactical analysis and match report by Peter Munnely.  A loss at Watford left a sour […]