Manchester United’s 0-0 draw against Newcastle United raised questions about Erik ten Hag’s tactics.
Many people have criticised United for being a counter-attacking team, playing their best against a team deploying a high defensive line.
This was quite evident in wins over Liverpool and Arsenal, where most of the goals scored were on the break.
Since then, Ten Hag has consciously tried to train his side to keep possession.
United’s performance against Everton was a good example of the team’s improvement with respect to building and sustaining attacks.
Despite the disappointing result on Sunday, United created plenty of chances.
Twitter account ‘UtdArena’ posted an insightful thread discussing how individual quality led to United wasting so many chances.
A reminder:
Goal
— obviousChance
— a shotOpportunity
— a situation wherein a shot could take place depending on the final 2-3 actionsOpening
— where space to penetrate behind the opposition defence opens up— UtdArena (@UtdArena) October 18, 2022
United missed the composure and quality of Christian Eriksen in midfield.
While Fred does work hard and help in breaking up the play, he is not blessed with the same quality on the ball as the Dane.
The Brazilian was one of the players guilty of making dubious decisions in the final third.
Bruno Fernandes, too, reverted to trying the impossible pass when there was a more straightforward option available.
These small things make a huge difference. United must learn how to recycle possession and never be impatient.
Ten hag will need time to implement his tactics in the team, but from what we can see, he is doing a brilliant job.
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