Manchester United suffered a setback in their Premier League campaign after a very good start to the season. The Red Devils suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat against Arsenal at Emirates on Sunday.
The Red Devils were enjoying good form as they had won four games on a trot in all competitions and were sitting top of the league. The Old Trafford side now drop to third position after the defeat on Sunday.
It was looking good for Louis van Gaal as his players were showing improvement in their game. They were now starting to get goals and were defending as a unit. The only thing which was worrying was that team was needing some time to settle into the matches which gave opponents a chance to take the lead.
Southampton and Wolfsburg took a quick lead against the Red Devils and then United started their dominance in the game and came back with wins. Arsenal capitalised on United’s this weekend and demolished them inside twenty minutes of the game by scoring three goals.
Manchester United will now have to wait till the international break to bounce back. They now face Everton at Goodison Park after the break. Everton mauled United 3-0 last year and they would be looking to do the same after watching the Arsenal game. Van Gaal will be looking to get back to winning ways and a change in tactics is a must if he wants to come home with three points from Merseyside.
The 4-2-3-1 formation should be ditched
United have been better defensively this season than last term. Daley Blind and Chris Smalling has formed a very good partnership. The full-backs Luke Shaw and Matteo Darmian also started the season in the best possible way. United’s back four was out of position completely on Sunday, they have lost Shaw for a long time and have tried Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young in the back four. Marcos Rojo, the back-up left back, is also injured. The defence was pressing together and they were very good in positioning until they lost Shaw. Hence, United needed only two holding midfielders to create a good shielding for the defence.
Darmian suffered at right-back on Sunday and gave loads of space to Alexis Sanchez to flourish. The midfielders were also pressing high up which also gave Ozil ample amount of space and time to attack. Valencia did a better job at right back in second half and they were better shielded with a three man midfield of Michael Carrick, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Marouane Fellaini. Van Gaal needs to stick with a consistent back four rather than tinkering every match. The consistent selection will help in bringing back the coordination in the defence and more security is to be provided from midfield.
Three man midfield key in big games
United were under severe pressure in March last term when they had numerous tough games on the trot. This was the time when Van Gaal used his favourite formation 4-3-3 which he has always deployed wherever he has coached. United reaped benefits from the midfield three of Michael Carrick, Maraoune Fellaini and Ander Herrera.
The English midfielder sat in front of the back four and the other two played as a box-to-box midfielder.Fellaini used his physical presence to create space for his other teammates and grabbed in odd goals.The performance against Manchester City at Old Trafford was his best performance in a United shirt. Herrera, on the other hand, was the creative spark in the team and he pressed the opponents well which helped in regaining the ball. He was key in United’s 2-1 win at Anfield last season.
The Red Devils now boast more technically gifted midfielders in the form of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin. The midfield three of Schneiderlin-Herrera-Schweinsteiger can be a devastating one with the German at the base of the midfield. Schneiderlin and Herrera can effectively press the opponents and Schweinsteiger can sit deep and help out his defenders.
This will also help in decreasing the space for the attacking midfielders and the wingers which are drifting in against United. The full-backs will also get a considerable amount of help from the box to box midfielders and can form good triangles while going forward. Fellaini can slot in well in this midfield from the bench while Carrick can be rotated with the German captain. Rooney is also struggling in the number 10 role so he can also play the centre midfield role.
The options that United possess from the bench are not so attacking, but the players with the likes of Herrera and Fellaini can offer more from the bench in 4-3-3 than a 4-2-3-1 formation. United are becoming predictable for other teams so flexibility in tactics can do good for the team especially on the away trips.