Man United's Goal Difference Back to Zero: Are They Back for Good?
"You can only cross the bridge when you come to it."
Alejandro Garnacho scored one of the greatest goals the Premier League has seen since Wayne Rooney was still in his prime, and Manchester City still thought Pep was short for a cola-beverage.
Manchester United have finally found form with 4 wins in 5 matches propelling the club into 6th place in the league, only 6pts off top placed Arsenal. With an easier schedule, it’s unclear if United have turned a page and executing much better on their game plan or if the weaker opposition is struggling to keep up with the gap in quality of the squad.
The most notable of stats to draw from in United’s recent rise is the goal difference is back to 0. Erik Ten Hag’s team are not only finally starting to score goals but with the resurgence of Harry Maguire and Andre Onana’s mistakes dissolving, the team is also keeping a clean sheet.
Ten Hag made his offensive strategy for Manchester United very clear this year. Since preseason in the United States he has spoken about creating a team that is lethal in transition. But until this recent run of results, this transitional team had been successful in chance creating but extremely poor in converting their chances, and even worse at covering for their failed transitional or counter-attacks.
Figure 1.0
Leading Everton by 2 goals and mid-way through the 2nd half, United have a window to score a third goal.
Anthony Martial, the substitute number 9, often drops deep to get involved in play. This is a subjective part of Martial’s game as an argument can be made that a number 9 in a transitional counterattacking team should be the furthest man forward, always prepared to make runs in-behind the opposition’s defense and stretch the team.
The counterargument to be made is Martial’s ability to drop deep creates confusion for the opposition’s defense.
In Figure 1. Everton CB James Tarkowski commits to closing down Bruno Fernandes with Jarrad Branthwaite in no-man’s land. This can likely be put down to Everton manager Dyche’s tactics as we notice Branthwaite is prepared to drop deep; Everton do not play a high-line.
Figure 2
At this level of the sport, the great teams and players are separated from the good ones based on the choices they make. In Figure 2. Tarkowski’s choice was to close down Bruno, not a bad decision.
Branthwaite choice was to drop even further into his own half, fearing the blistering olympic runner pace of Marcus Rashford which he sees coming.
Figure 3
Tarkowski’s decision to close down Fernandes puts the Everton defender in the most successful defensive position to break up Man Utd’s counter. Anthony Martial, not a playmaker, received a pass-back from Fernandes as seen in Figure 2.0 and in lieu of laying the ball off to two other blisteringly quick United players in Garnacho & McTominay, Martial returns a weak tame pass to Fernandes.
Martial at this point has failed to run Erik Ten Hag’s game-plan. Manchester United should be breaking with pace. Figure 3. illustrates a team that is prepared to create a 5 (Rashford, Bruno, Martial, Garnacho, McTominay) vs 2 (Branthwaite, Young) but due to the passiveness of a weak lay-off pass, Tarkowski and James Garner in midfield are able to win this ball back.
Figure 4
In Figure 4 we start to see the summation of Manchester United’s struggles this season. What should have been a 5 vs 2 counterattack led by electric pace and players who have either scored in this game or in one of the previous 5, we instead see a poor giveaway by a number 9 who’s exposed his teammates out of position.
Figure 5
The difference between Everton and a Tottenham or Arsenal, both teams to have defeated United this season, is most striking in the quality of their offensive players.
Everton have a chance here to take United on albeit the lead pass distributor is James Tarkowski and not James Maddison or Martin Ødegaard.
Figure 6
The pass is made and it’s surgical.
Figure 7
Jack Harrison, on loan from relegated Leeds, is able to receive the perfect pass in his stride and play Dominic Calvert-Lewin 6 yard from the Manchester United goal.
Figure 8
The play ends with the ball comfortably in Andre Onana’s hands.
Once again we must ask the question, have Manchester United found something in their game? Or, is the quality of their players creating an insurmountable gap for the weaker teams in the league?
For now, Manchester United must not put the cart in front of the horse. This team needs to build on the present form with an end-goal of continuing to mitigate the errors that have put them in this hole to begin with.