Gaps in Man Utd's midfield remain a problem

Casemiro leaves Man Utd's midfield loose

It's a long-standing problem at Man Utd and despite improvements, Fulham's Alex Iwobi finding space in the Premier League match on 24 August was largely Man Utd's own fault.

Casemiro's position is Man Utd's weakness

Situations like the one illustrated below happen quite often, although this example is particularly evident after Casemiro makes a reckless tackle. However, having Casemiro is better than not having him. After the Brazilian left the pitch in the second half, Man Utd’s midfield was left with even more space.

Huge space in the middle of the pitch when Casemiro lost his position

Amorim may have been a little too bold in starting Bruno Fernandes and Mount in midfield after that change - although it did lead to Man Utd's opening goal. However, as the second half wore on, the players' fitness levels dropped and Fulham dominated the midfield. Fulham had 52% possession and were always the team with the better chance of making a difference.

Amorim, on the other hand, sees it as a pressing issue. The United boss admitted: "We tried to press high, but after one or two times we need to control the game and wait for the opponent. We want to press all the time, but sometimes we have to do better in those moments, understand the game, try to sit back a little bit and then start pressing. So they had more space than us when they attacked."

Silva's 3-5-1-1 formation is a lesson for Amorim's opponents

If the game looked like a tight tactical battle, it was thanks to Marco Silva, whose decision to use a similar formation to Man Utd helped Fulham to neutralize their opponents' threats.

With a 3-5-1-1 formation, Fulham played an active defense in midfield and were ready to close down the opponent by sending one of the five defenders forward to confront Man Utd's strikers.

In particular, the two full-backs Timothy Castagne and Ryan Sessegnon were allowed to push up to mark Mason Mount and Bryan Mbeumo - a tactic that was extremely successful throughout the match.

Fulham used 3 midfielders to overwhelm 2 midfielders of Man Utd

The second part of Silva's tactical plan was to dominate the midfield, with three midfielders outnumbering the two Manchester United midfielders. This ensured that Iwobi was always the one with space to combine with.

From the first minute until the end of the match, despite changes made by coach Amorim to mark the game, Iwobi was always at the forefront of the attack. Finally, the numerical advantage in the midfield area was rewarded with a counter-attack, creating the premise for Emile Smith Rowe's equalizer.

By using a back three, adding an extra player in midfield and instructing his defenders to closely mark Man Utd's striker, Silva may have provided a formula for other Premier League sides to follow to counter Amorim's side.

Source: https://znews.vn/khoang-trong-o-hang-tien-ve-man-utd-van-la-mot-van-de-post1579688.html