Before talking about the brilliance of Rayan Cherki in the goal, it's worth noting that stairs (escadinha) formed of Anderson, Cherki, Gvardiol & the shadowpass from Cherki that enabled the ball to move progressively from an altitude to another in a such clogged area.

That explosive cut inside & quick feet from Jeremy Doku allow him to create separation and curl that silky Coutinho/Robben-esque shot toward the top right of the net.

Ryan Gravenberch is just a fantastic midfielder when it comes to evading pressure. He's always on a half-turn position, assessing the direction of pressure, then he nudges the ball into space, or flicks it around his marker, or leaves it roll to get into at the back of pressure.

On why Manchester United cannot control a positive game state. Similar events keep occurring after taking the lead against Everton twice, against Brighton, and now against Tottenham.

There is no individual that can step in and suddenly Manchester United would look better while the collective scheme and tactics don't provide them with the conditions to maximise their input. It might mitigate United problems & woes. However, it'd not fulfill the whole potential.

The only positive of Manchester United before international break was the midfield ability to connect the dots. Tottenham stripped that off by applying an intense pressure on them from behind and from the front (Solanke drops or Savio narrows inside).

What Ails Manchester United With the help of mygameplan.ai data, here is an excavation into the reasons behind Manchester United's slow start to the season, weaknesses, coaching shortcomings, collective & individual woes & consequences of the transfer market. lamdarhri.substack.com/p/what-ails-...

What Ails Manchester United

An excavation into the reasons behind Manchester United’s slow start to the season, weaknesses, coaching shortcomings, collective & individual woes, and the consequences of the transfer market.

lamdarhri.substack.com

Manchester United high press really looks primitive. The team cannot close off passing lanes. Carrick usually wants to maintain the numerical superiority at the backline, which means that the team is overloaded somewhere on the pitch.

What surprised me (shocking) when rewatching Manchester United games is the lack of some basics that really hinders the team either in progression or in the final third. The decision making is really below the average. The first touch isn't clean, players are chasing their first touch.

The positioning of Manchester United double false nines around the opponent's midfield and the asymmetrical fullbacks generate regular 1v1 situations for the wingers. However, Man Utd don't have wide players who can provide qualitative superiority, bar Amad Diallo & to some extent, Marcus Rashford.

Real Madrid problems reside in the players & the coach at the same time. Some players ability limit the team's ceiling, others impact negatively the balance of the team.

This is exactly how Hürzeler set up Brighton against Arsenal. They prevented them from playing their game, especially in the early phases, by applying a well-coordinated and intense high press. It's safe to say Brighton "Iraola"ed Arsenal.

Chema Andrés does similar things to Rodri. Anticipation, proactive, clean way of tackling (to retain the ball), reads the situation well to mop up loose and second balls, aerial threat offensively & defensively.

Brighton are extremely good at pulling apart opponents vertically. Really nice deeper movements from Kostoulas to drag Konsa & find that access pass into the space BTLs.

ACHRAF@lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 3w ago

During Manchester United's periods of passivity, Brighton resorted to backward passing to break down United's shape. Baiting the front and midfield line & pinning the backline created a hole BTLs for Brighton to find that pass into the gap generated.

During Manchester United's periods of passivity, Brighton resorted to backward passing to break down United's shape. Baiting the front and midfield line & pinning the backline created a hole BTLs for Brighton to find that pass into the gap generated.

I used mygameplan.ai physical data and broke it down into out-of-possession and in-possession sections. Manchester United's off-ball stats are so worrying. It's no wonder Manchester United arrives late when pressing or when retreating. The physical, technical, and tactical sides impact one another.

I used mygameplan.ai physical data and broke it down into out-of-possession and in-possession sections. Manchester United's off-ball stats are so worrying. It's no wonder Manchester United arrives late when pressing or when retreating. The physical, technical, and tactical sides impact one another.

Manchester United got into a positive game state and then went totally passive against the ball by sitting deep with zero transitional threat. 2-0 is just a tricky result. You concede the first goal, and then the opposing team gains momentum.

In the Premier League, Brighton tend to concede more goals in the first 15 minutes of the game. They conceded three goals. Nice goal from Man Utd, gathering play on the left, quick passes to switch & isolate Lacey on the right.

Max Dowman lives off disguise. He keeps the ball very close to his feet, a good reaction to the defender's step-up. I like, specifically here, how he stops and then gets into the space behind the CB (Kipré). And then finished on the opposite side of where the GK went. Extremely unpredictable.

Reasons leaving Real Madrid open to variance: —Giving up possession (Real Madrid ended the second half with 40%); —Defending in a passive way, no compactness; —Going long without having a target or having a plan for the second balls; —Playing at a fast tempo; —Squandering chances;

Used mygameplan.ai reports to look at Real Madrid's attacking corners. Real Madrid hasn't scored a goal yet from a corner, but they have generated some quality shots, especially from corners delivered into the center (at the edge of the 6-yard box).

Used mygameplan.ai reports to look at Real Madrid's attacking corners. Real Madrid hasn't scored a goal yet from a corner, but they have generated some quality shots, especially from corners delivered into the center (at the edge of the 6-yard box).

The same can be said about Manchester United against Manchester City except there wasn't any underlapping run from Dorgu that was dangerous.

ACHRAF@lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · last mo.

Manchester United found solutions to break down Everton first and midfield lines. But, once MNU gets into the final third, there was nothing outside Luke Shaw underlapping Rashford. Rushed decisions, early shots, there isn't a plan made to create chances on regular basis,...

The same can be said about Manchester United against Manchester City except there wasn't any underlapping run from Dorgu that was dangerous.

ACHRAF@lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · last mo.

Manchester United found solutions to break down Everton first and midfield lines. But, once MNU gets into the final third, there was nothing outside Luke Shaw underlapping Rashford. Rushed decisions, early shots, there isn't a plan made to create chances on regular basis,...

Jérémy Jacquet was a standout player against Atlético Madrid. The weight & quality of his line-breaking passes, and I would say the quantity, is so unique. He can as well interpret those diagonal lanes (out-in entries).

Atlético Madrid playing with two false nines in Alvarez and Lee Kang-In give them the overload around one of Liverpool double pivots when the other peels off wide.

Mourinho giving up possession is not gonna end well for Real Madrid on the long term in a regular basis. You defend deep against high quality teams means that you concede more shots, more corners, more chances and high probability to concede more goals.

My Did You Notice? video this week is on Christos Tzolis and how he's helping Arsenal generate left-hand side threat. Enjoy!

These are the areas Manchester United players and the team as a whole need to improve, especially in the final third: processing what's happening around them before taking action. In countless situations, players shoot or play a forward pass when they could move the ball into higher-quality areas.