On Monday evening, the “Theatre of Dreams” saw the spectacle of the FA Cup third round clash between recently appointed Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa and Manchester United.
With two games in hand, trailing bitter rivals City by 22 points in the Premier League and matched up with Atletico de Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, the FA Cup offered a fresh breath of air for United.
Almost 45 days down, also recently appointed Ralf Rangnick’s solid-as-a-rock gegenpressing philosophy has not yet come to proper life on English soil. The squad that is built for both continental and domestic silverware is struggling to adapt to the German’s radical tactical structures, playing as the lesser team almost the whole match against the dynamic, strong and in form Villa despite Scott McTominay’s early unmarked header providing the
winner for United.
The result and the youngster who played an impressive ten minutes against the fatigued Matty Cash, Anthony Elanga, seemed like the only positives that United can take out of this game.
Missing Paul Pogba, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Harry Maguire, Rangnick named a line-up that is considered ideal against Villa’s most usual eleven, with the absence of new loan signing Philippe Coutinho.
Due to the early conceded goal, Villa tried to attack, press and take control of the game which they most certainly did for the majority of the game, using a footballing style more in line with that which Rangnick is known for.
Despite the line up’s capability on paper to play high tempo offence and defence, with the absence of Pogba who is not best known for his work rate and Edinson Cavani replacing nearly 36 year-old Ronaldo, Manchester United seemed incapable of pressing.
They saw their attacking 4-2-3-1-ish shape transform into a solid 4-4-2 when they didn’t have the ball, with Bruno Fernandes pushing forward near Cavani in order to add a second man to help Cavani control the three-man structure that Villa creates by dropping Douglas Luiz deep between the centre backs. With the young and dynamic duo of Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood trying to cover the flanks, Fred and Scott McTominay offered more support from the centre of the park.
Aston Villa use eight men in building from the back though, and even sometimes Emi Buendia dropping deep, overrunning and outplaying United’s high press. Particularly in the second half, Villa repeatedly broke the high line of United, with Ollie Watkins tapping in the leftovers from Danny Ings’ offside run behind the United defence.
Villa scored another disallowed goal from a free kick that was played into the United box, where Jacob Ramsey’s block on Cavani was examined in detail by the officials.
Using John McGinn closer to the right flank as a deep-lying playmaker when building from the back, Villa allowed Matty Cash to get forward with more freedom, which resulted in an incredible David de Gea save. With Victor Lindelöf’s howler left unpunished by Ollie Watkins, who later cannoned the ball to the crossbar, United managed to see out the game and kept only their second clean sheet at Old Trafford all season; the other was Rangnick’s first game in charge – United hosting Crystal Palace in the Premier League’s 15th Matchday.
When United had the ball, they mostly seemed harmless. Long balls after numerous failed attempts of beating Villa’s press and clueless counter attack attempts just for the sake of playing with speed led to United creating close to nothing in an offensive sense, which showed how the club has been separated from their fast-paced, offensive DNA.
Fernandes roamed around the midfield, offering a passing option to the deeper midfielders, often pulling out toward either sideline. With Rashford providing the width of the attack at the left flank and Luke Shaw staying narrow, almost like a third centre back at times, United tried to beat Villa’s press. But Villa’s wisely-constructed front three stayed narrow and close to the centre of the pitch, where they could block the deep-lying midfielders of United from receiving the ball, disrupting United’s ability to build up from the back.
Interestingly enough, the most concerning part of this game in particular and during recent matches is not the insufficient performance of individuals or the technical staff of Manchester United. Bruno Fernandes, the signing that started United’s transformation from a Top 4 candidate at best, to a team that no team in the world wants to match up with, is looking like a ghost of himself. All the confidence that fuels his game seems long gone and the man that injected hope in United fans’ heart is looking shaky at best.
Similar words can be said for almost all the players’ body languages after Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s sacking but it is safe to say that another man needing a pick-me-up at the moment is Rashford. After he decided against chasing after the spoils of Greenwood’s shot on the counter, while Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Martinez got mixed up and collided, one and only word comes to mind: disheartened.
With the media all over at the players as they struggle to adapt to Rangnick’s methods, the so-called “Godfather of Gegenpressing” seems to have a lot on his hands in these next few months, where he will remain as interim manager before abandoning his post and moving upstairs into a consulting role for the club. Other than adjusting a squad that is built for a different style from his radical ideas on how football should be played, Rangnick will deal with the “disheartened” players who are obviously not overjoyed after the dismissal of Solksjaer.
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One response
Great content!