Why Man Utd are tailor-made to expose Liverpool

Joe Williams
Rashford Martial Fernandes Telles Man Utd

Keep your mails on Man Utd vs Liverpool and anything else coming to theeditor@football365.com

 

Man Utd are tailor-made to expose Liverpool
I recently sent in a mail regarding Trent Alexander-Arnold and how his poor form and tactical issues were causing problems. Now I would like to move on to the next problem, the centre of defence.

Before I start, thanks for putting the headline, ‘Trent is a mediocre defender’. Although it was exactly what I said (and so I can’t bloody complain), it didn’t half look bad in isolation. As with everything in life, context is key…

Anyway, let’s start with the obvious; losing VVD was always going to be a problem. He is the best CB in the world. He transformed our team and form when he initially came, and his departure has had an almost equally transformative effect. But I believe his absence alone isn’t the cause of our problems, instead its the fact we lost his partner for an equally long time. Here’s why:

Liverpool love the high line. We push up and squash the pitch and this enables us to press the opposition all over the park. I don’t think people fully appreciate how this system works and how we try to counteract the inherent weaknesses in it. Firstly, you need to understand our formation. Liverpool are frequently not in a 4-3-3, instead it is usually 2-5-3 or even 2-3-5. We have VVD and Gomez deepest, in front of them are the 3 in midfield and our fullbacks alongside, then furthest forward the front 3. The weakness in this system is that if a team plays from deep straight into their attackers, they can have 1 or 2 players against our back 2. This is not a calamity as both of them have lots of pace to guard against the huge space in behind and we also have a great sweeper keeper, but ideally you ideally don’t want to leave your defence exposed to a 2 on 2 if you can avoid it.

The way Liverpool deal with this is to identify the weakest ball player in the opposing defence. We either allow him time knowing his long ball will likely be a high, floaty, and not very accurate one that VVD will usually win, or more commonly, we use him as a trigger to press the players around him. Affording him time is not too dangerous because he is unlikely to be capable of starting incisive attacks, and his passing might not be the most accurate and we can try and win the ball back. Importantly, even if we don’t turn over the ball, the quick press stops the players receiving the ball having time to look up and play a more accurate long pass. The result is either a not very accurate long ball to deal with or not one at all. Liverpool want teams to try and play through them because they will back their gegenpressing technique to turn over the ball and attack the space with quick transitions.

Our current problem is to do with our CB replacements. First and foremost losing our first choice defenders and having replacements come in will always have a negative effect. This is the case all over the pitch and effects every team. However, the drop in quality is compounded by how the above tactic is affected by losing both Gomez and VVD. If one of Gomez or VVD had been fit we could have continued with the same tactical structure knowing Fab has proven to be a fantastic defender and the player alongside him has the pace to cover the huge expanse goal-side of our defence. Unfortunately, losing both and their replacements both being slow means we are now too exposed to quick forwards (this effect is slightly mitigated with Matip as he is marginally quicker, but it still exists, and anyway, he has been largely unfit). The result is that our midfield has dropped a little deeper to help out the defence and that is weakening our press high up the pitch and allowing more time for defenders to play accurate long balls. This is actually increasing the pressure on the defenders because they are more frequently coming up against accurate balls played up to the forwards who are then running at them. Even teams trying to play through us are finding more joy as we struggle to get the right balance of pressing and supporting our more exposed back line.

The problem for Klopp is that there is no obvious fix for this. He has tried moving Jordan back to inject some mobility, but no matter how much Henderson tries he can’t will himself into an experienced centre back. Ultimately, the standard of opposition strikers in the Prem is simply too good not to expose his lack of experience once or twice over 90 minutes. Again, the fact his partner has less than 30 top flight games as a CB does not help.

Worse is to come. Man Utd are tailormade to expose a slow Liverpool defence. Utd have an exceptionally quick trio of attackers, whichever combination they choose, and they love to play on the counter. They will have been prepped on Liverpool’s current weakness and will be praying that Matip stays injured. If he is, Liverpool will really struggle.

All this does not mean Utd will win. Football is massively about which team has a good day and enjoys a healthy dose of luck. The closer two teams are in quality the more likely it is decided by the minute intangibles. Also, while the scores are level Utd will not simply sit deep and hoof a long ball. They are top of the table for a reason and know they can hurt Liverpool. Ole may even take a risk and try to make a statement. If they win at Anfield playing attacking football, ending a 3 year unbeaten run and going 6 points clear, the narrative around them will fully change. Man U will be back and probably considered favourite for the title. That is a big carrot. For Liverpool, it might work in their favour, although weakened in central defence, the rest of the team are the same English Champions that dominated last season; give them the opportunity and they will kill a team that opens up, plays through the middle and affords their front 3 any space.

For Liverpool though, whatever the result, the problems will remain. Until Gomez/VVD return or Klopp buys their equivalent in the transfer market, we are severely weakened. We can still win the league, but the reality is our chances have been significantly reduced. The next few months will be interesting, perhaps trying to hang in there until one or both return, might be the best we can hope for.
Ed Ern

 

Arsenal are more Will Ferrell than Cesc Fabregas at the moment
Since becoming a Dad, I don’t get very many opportunities to watch the Arsenal. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I did get to see the second half last night, which was plenty to be honest.

Call me a dinosaur but when I was a kid, I was taught to pass the ball into the space in front of the man so he could run on to it instead of stopping to receive it. When did that stop being a thing?

Also, if you ever looked at Cesc Fabregas before he received the ball, you’d see him look left, look right, and decide what he was going to do before the ball arrived. There’s a scene in Semi-Pro where Will Ferrell keeps calling for and receiving the ball with his back to the basketball hoop and keeps passing it back to where it came from over and over again. Arsenal are more Will Ferrell than Cesc Fabregas at the moment. Can we get Cesc or Santi back in for a session to teach lads how to turn in possession once in a while?

I have been staunchly in favour of Arteta, but I’m wavering. Saka, Tierney and maybe Smith-Rowe aside, it seems the players are over-analysed and over-coached, that they are thinking too hard about the consequences of trying something and losing the ball and shunning spontaneity because of that?

It’s not just Arsenal, I’m sure Wolves fans and others would notice a lot of straight line, low risk, low reward stuff happening at the moment.

I think the reason Tierney is the apple of everyone’s eye is because he’s such a throwback? In possession, he is singularly interested in going towards the opposition goal at pace. Very little backwards stuff with Tierney. It doesn’t always work, but so what? Try again.
Niallo, Gooner, Uibh Fháilí

 

 

Arsenal and negotiations…
Arsenal wanting Ozil to pay them £10m
for Arsenal not registering him for the Premier League and playing him is peak ‘Arsenal’s negotiation team are a bunch of shit-throwing, screeching gibbons’.

You did this. I agree it should have been done (not including him), but this is your fault you utter morons. Take his deferred payment offer (net present value yaaaaaaaay) since we are utterly broke right now, get him gone and end this farce now. For our sanity. My god.
Tom, Walthamstow

 

Players do not celebrate goals all the time
In reply to Chaz in the mailbox this morning

So much of your mail is incorrect around training, lunch, showers etc Clubs have made a number of adjustments to these areas to ensure that the risk of Covid spread is managed. For example, players are now in clusters, so they train in that cluster rather than as a big group.

It is totally irrelevant about players being tested all the time, meaning they can do what they want on the pitch. Players are catching Covid, as has been shown much more recently with the outbreaks at Newcastle, Fulham and Villa. The point is that they can pass it onto someone much more vulnerable than they are before they are tested to show they are positive. Surely, any measure to reduce this risk is a good thing. Everyone in the country has made adjustments to their daily lives to help, it really isn’t much to ask from football.

Lastly, and this is important. Players do not celebrate goals all the time. A goal in an FA cup game against a lower league team, usually as a show of respect. Goal against a former club. 2-0 down with 5 mins to go, score a goal and then grab the ball to run back to try and get that equaliser. So players are capable of actually not celebrating and have shown it numerous times.
Ben Williams

 

Just to follow on the hugging mail this morning, there was a really good graphic doing the rounds over the last couple of days (which I now can’t find) pointing out that during most corners there’s c.18 players inside the box, from both teams, all in very close contact, often for longer than a goal celebration. If hugging after a goal is to be binned, how do you continue with players mixing in the box? Given the huggers are in the same professional bubbles, there’s even an argument that corners are more dangerous as it’s two bubbles mixing.

Of course, it’s all ridiculous. Either play or don’t play. Personally, I think if the risk is so high, the league should be paused; there’s thousands of people (not just players) travelling all over the country to keep it going as it stands – surely that’s as much a risk as those continually tested players hugging? But if you’re going to give the go-ahead to play you can’t change the nature of the game*. And if you don’t change the nature of the game, you can’t then get annoyed about stuff that is arguably less risky than the game itself.
Alex, (*well you could, no corners could be a laugh), Ayr

 

Man Utd without pens…
Interesting mail from Aman, Mumbai stating that if Man U were awarded no penalties they would be joint second.  By interesting I clearly mean absolute bollocks.  Penalties against Brighton (after fulltime no less), WBA and Villa turned draws into wins.  That’s 6 points gained without which Man U would be in 7th place behind Spurs on goal difference.

I can’t be arsed checking whether the analysis about where Liverpool would be without pens is correct.
James Outram, Wirral