Broken diamonds
For the first time since last season, Erik ten Hag has used a diamond-shaped four-man midfield formation for Man United. The one chosen alongside the trio Casemiro - Eriksen - Bruno is Scott McTominay. It is easy to understand that McTominay is in very good form in the Scotland national team, so this midfielder is the chosen one, not anyone else. Finally, the price and splendor are unforgettable, the "Red Devils" midfield quartet played like a hair-stopping chicken.
Ten Hag's first mistake was to break the midfield, where the trio Casemiro - Eriksen - Bruno have only lost 1 match in the entire 2022-2023 season. When a system was operating well, the Dutch strategist was creative at the wrong time. Christian Eriksen and Casemiro, in many situations participating in attack and supporting defense, did not know how to coordinate with McTominay.
In the Scotland national team, McTominay was named the "number 8" player, taking on the role of stepping into the opponent's penalty area to score. This star's way of playing is quite simple. He picked up the ball from the back and led a line into the middle to find an opportunity. However, with Bruno Fernandes speaking in front of him, McTominay would find it difficult to ignore the captain to practice the habit of being in the national team. Therefore, trying to put McTominay in was a forced act by Ten Hag.
This approach is also dangerous in that when McTominay takes the lead and Diogo Dalot takes the lead, Casemiro alone will have to face Brighton's storms on the left wing. In many counter-attacks, M.U's wings were almost paralyzed, not just Dalot's position.
Bruno, who was playing as a "number 10" under 2 strikers, almost lost his sight. The reason is that Bruno is used to playing as a center forward. When the striker runs around to attract players, the Portuguese midfielder will have space to finish. Otherwise, he could drift to the right as usual to have cross-line situations or turn the ball into the penalty area. Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund's inability to play attractive roles has directly put Bruno in front of Brighton's strong and crowded defence.
The first time using the diamond diagram, Ten Hag failed bitterly, certainly could not continue to experiment without basis like that.
Manchester United should not play 2 strikers
Rashford will be very good if he plays wide outside the opponent's penalty area and has enough space to accelerate. However, Ten Hag's 4-4-2 arrangement forced Rashford to stand closer to the penalty area because if he played too wide, he would step Eriksen's foot. In the end, Man United's brightest striker was narrowed, leading to a lack of creativity.
Seeing Rashford continuously stroking, I remember Thierry Henry's words for the English striker, it is true that strikers should use their brains when taking shots. Rashford is having a terrible start, completely different from the second half of last season.
As for Hojlund, he is only good at making walls, turning his back on the opponent's goal and accelerating, pressing people over short distances. Rashford was given limited playing space while Hojlund was unnecessarily expanded. Many situations where the young Danish striker is waiting in a corner and does not know how to dribble.
wrong mindset when entering the game
Man United have lost to Brighton 4 times in the last 5 matches but still have not learned a lesson. It is undeniable that in the first 20 minutes, the "Red Devils" pressed and had a chance to score. However, when the heat subsided, Ten Hag had to let his players drop deep to play defensively and wait for the counter-attack to be in their best position. On the contrary, the Dutch coach still pushed the team up to approach the opponent's penalty area and received continuous counter-attacks.
Facing an opponent who had defeated him many times but Ten Hag still could not learn a lesson. If Man United's strength is counter-attacking defense, let the opponent take the initiative to hold the ball to still perform the familiar smashes. Ten Hag did the opposite and suffered the consequences.
In addition, Man United has never been a good ball-throwing team and the lines are often very disjointed. If the "Red Devils" take the initiative to hold the ball and impose their playing style, the hesitation will sometimes be clearly shown because the Old Trafford team currently does not have a true conductor to hold the rhythm.
