Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes appeared to question their tactical approach after Wednesday's 4-1 Champions League defeat by Como. "We started off on the wrong foot," the Portuguese said. "They scored very early, [we had] not much pressure on the ball.
"It's a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave some space behind, to try and get the ball in the first moment [by] waiting for them, [giving] them the ball. "Sometimes when you give too much of the ball to these teams, they get confidence. They have so many bodies behind the ball, they make you run a lot, people get frustrated." His quotes are tactically dense so warrant breaking down, but what did Fernandes mean, and does he have a point?
Since Michael Carrick became United manager in January, they have largely defended in a zonal 4-2-4 or 4-4-2 shape that springs into a press in moments. When Fernandes said United "leave some space behind, to try and get the ball in the first moment" he was referring to them not immediately pressing across the pitch in a man-to-man fashion. Holding their 4-2-4 shape a little bit deeper, United allow opposition defenders time and space on the ball, looking to set traps before pouncing.
The overarching idea is with four players narrow and high, United's attackers are well positioned to score from turnovers should they win the ball back. At times during Carrick's stint as caretaker head coach last season, it worked well - as we saw when Bryan Mbeumo scored in United's 3-2 win at Arsenal in January two weeks after Carrick took over But the same approach has been less effective this season. On the same night defender Lisandro Martinez questioned United's recruitment - after their 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid - he also spoke about the ever-changing tactical landscape.
"You can't stay with what you did last season." he said. "Teams know you, how you play, know every detail, and if you don't change, next season is a big problem." Last season, the introduction of the 4-2-4 shape as a defensive tactic caught a number of teams off guard, making it more effective. Pep Guardiola and Pep Lijnders used the same shape at Manchester City - a tweak that underpinned their Carabao Cup final win over an ill-prepared Arsenal.
Having replaced Guardiola, Enzo Maresca redeployed it for the Community Shield in August, but this time Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had the solutions and the Gunners won. Within a few games, Maresca had abandoned the 4-24 and moved to a more man-to-man style of defending. Perhaps that is the sort of change Fernandes is hoping for - recognising the reduced effectiveness of United's defensive approach, with signs of weakness visible as early as pre-season.
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