Kobbie Mainoo exemplifies one of two ‘big problems’ for Man Utd under Ten Hag, says Carragher
Jamie Carragher used Kobbie Mainoo to illustrate one of two “big problems” with the Machester United system under Erik ten Hag this season.
United have faced 20+ shots in 12 Premier League games since Ten Hag joined the club in 2022, double that of Man City and Liverpool under Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
Ten Hag’s side have seen 16 or more shots against them on 14 occasions this season alone, a tally matched only by Sheffield United and Luton in the top flight.
Analysing United’s defending on Monday Night Football, Carragher said Ten Hag’s tactics are “impossible” to carry out.
Carragher said: “Over the last few weeks, Manchester United have been in great form but still the underlying numbers have been really poor.
“They’ve been very fortunate, so we’re not talking about them now just because they lost to Fulham.
“It’s about performance. They defend like a team I’ve never seen before. They like to press high with a deep block.
“It’s impossible. They like to do two things at the same time. You can only do one or the other.
“We’re all pressing high or we’re all defending deep. They’re trying to do both.”
Carragher said: “I’ve chosen clips against Fulham, but I could have chosen clips from where they’ve won games like against Aston Villa. It’s still the same problem.
“I want to highlight a problem from the very kick-off. If I highlight Kobbie Mainoo, this is not a criticism of him, it’s more of what are his instructions before the game?
“He’s not sure if he should be looking after the holding midfielder or watching the No 10. He’s caught in between.
“It’s straight from the kick-off. You should know your job from kick-off. That’s down to the coaching staff.
“You can see the big problem then had just 20 seconds into the game against Fulham. It’s been the problem for Manchester United all season.
“They’ve shown they’re a poor side at handling counter-attacks. They’ve got no pace at the back and they’ve got a lack of legs in midfield.”
Carragher added: “Another big problem for them is when they’ve got the ball. Some people say there’s no patterns of play with Manchester United.
“What’s their philosophy? I tell you one of the reasons why there’s no patterns of play and another reason why they get done on the counter-attack… Look at the positions the players find themselves in when Raphael Varane is on the ball.
“You look where the right-back is [Diogo Dalot] and he can’t receive a pass. Mainoo is on the last line. His position can’t be right. Bruno Fernandes, your No 10 is playing like a striker, and on the other side, Victor Lindelof can’t receive the ball.
“It leads to a turnover and how many times have you seen Manchester United players having to run 40 yards back to their own goal this season?
“Look at the ones who are sprinting. The ones who took up wrong positions. Dalot, Mainoo, Bruno Fernandes and Lindelof. They’re sprinting 30, 40, 50 yards five or six times in a game – hence why they get so many injuries in a game.
“With Fulham’s winning goal, we see that Marcus Rashford won’t run while Harry Maguire and Christian Eriksen can’t run. That’s a massive problem for them.”
