Two False 9s going to become more important after Pep Guardiola delivered masterclass against Man Utd

MANCHESTER CITY produced a tactical masterclass to take apart Manchester United in the Carabao Cup — and at times did it using two false nines.

But this should not come as a surprise, as the past few seasons have shown most teams use traditional centre-forwards in this role.

Raheem Sterling provided much of the attacking threat against Manchester UnitedCredit: PA:Press Association

Bernardo Silva was also given licence to thrill against UnitedCredit: AFP

The biggest example is, of course, Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino but it is also the case across the Premier League.

And it is done to combat the growing trend of deep-sitting counter-attacking sides by dragging them out.

When I would play as a centre-back, I had more problems if I did not have anyone to mark.

You feel as though you are not doing your job so you drift and go looking for somebody to mark.

Brendan Rodgers is now the third best paid manager in the league… behind only Guardiola and Mourinho

And that is exactly what Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof did at Old Trafford in midweek.

Without a recognised frontman to latch on to, especially in the opening 30 minutes as they went 3-0 down, they followed the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva into pockets of space.

As a result, their deep sit was compromised, and fell right into Pep Guardiola and City’s trap.

Guardiola had been previously stung by United in a 2-1 defeat at the Etihad, failing to deal with their fast counter and low block.

GUARDIOLA MASTERCLASS

For someone whose attention to detail is second to none, Guardiola would have been frustrated, especially given United’s great record against the bigger teams playing this way.

It led to him making a bold move that worked brilliantly, tempting United’s defence out with multiple false nines.

Arguably, if you are going to play this way with a 4-3-3 set-up, you need your ‘slowest’ attacker — in this case De Bruyne — as the spearhead of the attack to ask questions of the centre-backs.

This was evident for Riyad Mahrez’s goal, with De Bruyne dragging Jones width ways to allow the Algerian to make use of the space in behind left by a wandering Lindelof.

UNITED WITHOUT DISCIPLINE

In return, the best way to play against a team using one or several false nines is to have your central defenders and defensive midfielders near enough holding hands to form a box.

This way, should the false nine begin to drift, he can be handed over between defence and midfield.

In United’s case, it was more of a rectangle, with Fred and Andreas Pereira getting dragged into areas they did not want to be in.

And without Scott McTominay due to injury, they lacked the only disciplined midfielder who will do what Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri did — sit and hold the fort.

Guardiola must be given huge credit for seeing a problem and finding a solution.

This trait will perhaps be needed more and more this season and beyond, with the majority of teams preferring to set up with a view to counter from deep.

But done correctly, the false nine is very effective.

Pep Guardiola is a big fan of the ‘false 9’ when neededCredit: AP:Associated Press

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk