If you want to know what a well-constructed Manchester United performance looks like, you need to take another look at Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 win at Old Trafford. Against a lackluster press and non-existent cover in transition, Spurs tore Erik ten Hag’s side to shreds.
Ange Postecoglou’s rotation in midfield proved too much for United’s organization without the ball, while the focus on attacking wide areas cut through United time and time again.
In possession, rotation between Tottenham’s midfielders and full-backs extended United’s 4-4-2…
…and created gaps in the midfield line that Dominic Solanke and other central players exploited.
Here, the switch between Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Polo creates a gap between Marcus Rashford and Koby Mainu who exchange markers, allowing Solanke to step back and give Cristian Romero the option of passing through that space. provide.
Romero passes to Solanke and Kulusevski begins to advance…
…as Brennan Johnson pins down United left-back Diogo Dalot to provide the striker with a progressive option.
Solanke flicks the ball towards Johnson…
…and Kulusevski’s third-man run finds him on the right wing. Tottenham’s attack on the right attracts Manuel Ugarte, with James Maddison free on the opposite flank as United’s right-back Nousser Mazraoui worries about Timo Werner (missing the shot). means.
As a result, Kulusevski switched play to Maddison, and Ugarte was dragged to the opposite side.
In another example, Kulusevski and Solanke are initially marked by Mainu and Lisandro Martinez. Tottenham’s centre-forward dropped back to offer himself as a passing option…
…and Kulusevski rushes forward, forcing Martinez and Mainu to switch markers as Destiny Udogi takes over Ugarte.
Again, the moments when Tottenham advance the ball are when they switch positions, allowing them to catch up with United while exchanging markers. However, with no passing options, Solanke hands the ball back to Romero.
Romero played the ball wide to Polo, and Solanke attacked the space behind Mainu. Meanwhile, Kulusevski drags Martinez even deeper, forcing Ugarte to mark Udogi…
That means that when Polo’s pass hits Solanke, United cannot cover the space behind Mainu. The center forward then plays the ball to Johnson on the right…
…and by the time Ugarte moved to support, the Welsh forward flicked it back to Rodrigo Bentancur, who found Maddison in space.
Maddison then switched the ball to the other side and combined with Kulusevski to almost double Tottenham’s lead.
Tottenham’s movement in the central zone continued to extend United’s structure out of possession. Here Mainu and Ugarte initially mark Kulusevski and Maddison…
…However, when Spurs carry the ball to the right flank, the Uruguayan midfielder moves laterally to cover Mainu. The substitution of Ugarte means that Alejandro Garnacho cannot commit to containing Micky van de Ven, due to the tight positions of Maddison and Udogi (outside the shot).
Romero returns the ball to Guglielmo Vicario…
…Then the goalkeeper passes to Van de Ven and Garnacho is late to press.
With Ugarte moving up to mark Maddison and Mazraoui anchored by Werner on the left, Van de Ven comfortably found Udogi in space.
Then, in a domino effect, the right side of the United defense was delayed and pressed Udogi and Werner, allowing them to link up on the left, but the left-back found Kulusevski in front of the penalty area and Johnson hit the post.
In addition, Tottenham’s full-backs and Bentancur positioned themselves wisely to protect transitions in case United won the ball back.
Here, after Tottenham break through United’s block, Oudogui finds Werner on the left and Bentancur moves to that side to cover.
Bentancur’s positioning provides a safety net on Tottenham’s left flank. Werner’s cutback failed to find Udogi’s run inside the penalty area and United began an attacking transition…
…With Bentancur tracking Garnacho’s movements, Van de Ven and Romero can actively defend the central space and the right flank.
In another example, Polo and Bentancur dropped deep while Tottenham continued to attack in the aftermath of a set piece.
When an attack fails and United look to counter-attack, Postecoglou’s team is positioned to defend three different lanes, with Bentancur’s positioning allowing Udogi to defend the central space.
Tottenham’s ability to defend United’s transitions also meant they could create their own in the opposite direction. United’s gung-ho approach on the counter-attack means they are always vulnerable when reversed.
In this example, Udogi’s narrow positioning allows him to recover and attack the spaces vacated when United win the ball in midfield.
Van de Ven moves wide to protect Udogi’s position, and the left-back drops into the central space to compensate…
…This allowed him to intercept and reverse Garnacho’s pass to Joshua Zirkzee.
Krzyzewski hits Werner in goal in transition for Tottenham…
…But Werner takes a shot straight at Andre Onana.
In the build-up to Tottenham’s first goal, Udogi was in a position to track Garnacho in case he lost the ball.
United won the ball back and started an attacking transition…
…The left-back is in position to protect Garnacho, with Van de Ven and Romero protecting the other spaces. Fernandes tries to find out how Garnacho is running, but…
…However, Udogi’s presence forces the right winger to play backwards towards Rashford. Meanwhile, Bentancur drops to support the defense…
…This allows Van de Ven to sprint and drive Rashford onto the ball. Bentancur has already dropped down to cover for Van de Ven in case he is late.
Tottenham reverse the transition and Van de Ven breaks through the disorganized United defense to find Johnson heading towards the far post…
…and the Welsh forward scored into an empty net.
“We knew Manchester United’s main threat was in transition. They’re pretty deadly with the players up front,” Postecoglou said after the game.
“Today we wanted to keep them well contained, and that was to get the full-backs, especially Maddison and Kulusevski, to play disciplined football.”
(Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
On the ball, Tottenham’s midfield rotation allowed them to break through United’s blocks, their positioning protecting them in defensive transitions and allowing them to counterattack in the opposite direction.
Tottenham’s well-constructed plan and flawless execution. This cannot be said for last year’s Ten Hag team.
