Tactics Exposed

THE Manchester Derby didn’t live up to its usual hype on Sunday as Man Utd and Man City played our a goalless bore draw.Despite excitement over what could have been a feisty clash, as it has been over the years, fans found themselves struggling to stay awake during the weekend’s big game.Manchester United and Man City played out a snooze-fest draw on SundayCredit: AlamyRuben Amorim’s United side failed to take advantage of their underachieving neighbours with issues all over the pitch.In the latest episode of SunSport’s Tactics Exposed, our expert DEAN SCOGGINS reveals what is broken about the Man Utd system.GARNACHO DRIVING ME AMADYou can’t help but think what Amad Diallo – and possibly even Anthony Elanga – would be doing in Alejandro Garnacho’s role in this Man Utd team.Unselfish runs are so important in football these days and opening up passing lanes too, but Garnacho does the opposite.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLJust 25 seconds into the game Garnacho had a fantastic opportunity to tee up Bruno Fernandes with a simple pass, but chose not to play the ball.Garnacho’s run-direction is often the wrong way. It’s not that he always goes left or always goes right, it’s that he doesn’t seem to have the awareness of what’s around him to make the right run.In Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 shape, Garnacho should be making runs to occupy defenders or make himself an option whenever Patrick Dorgu gets the ball.Instead, Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund seem to always make runs into the same central positions.Most read in FootballIt might be time to start to question whether the Argentine is understanding what is being asked of him by the new manager.Join SUN CLUB for the Man Utd Files every Thursday plusin-depth coverage and exclusives from Old TraffordAlejandro Garnacho chose not to play Bruno Fernandes in with a simple pass in the opening minuteGarnacho found himself in the same position as Rasmus Hojlund on multiple occasionsThe winger should be making unselfish runs to pull away defenders when Patrick Dorgu is on the ballOPEN THE DORGUDorgu worked really hard and he did fantastically well to get up and down the pitch to try and implement Amorim’s system.Amorim’s system means that overloading one side of the pitch can often leave a wing-back wide open on the other flank – a position Dorgu found himself in multiple times.However, his barnstorming runs were either not being spotted quick enough by his midfield teammates or Garnacho was getting in his way in the wide areas.United need to release Dorgu earlier so he can be the one to put the crosses in the box.Amorim’s side didn’t take advantage of Pep Guardiola’s narrow system.Had they defended narrow and then spread the ball wide when they attacked, United could have had more joy against their neighbours.Patrick Dorgu put in a shift down the left flank for Man UtdThe wing-back operated in all areas down the left sideHe wasn’t picked out when he found himself in spaceGarnacho was often getting in his way, not opening the space for Dorgu to run intoMan Utd’s system allowed for space on the wings against Man City’s narrow style, but they didn’t play the ball wide often enoughTRUST ISSUESMan Utd players don’t seem to be trusting the players behind them, causing trust issues that are hampering their performances. The attackers leading the press seem to not trust the midfielders behind them to do their job when it comes to marking the opposition.That makes them drop back and try to help out.However this, in turn, leads to the midfielders dropping back to mark the deeper men and means United’s back three are left marking nobody with very little pressure being put on the ball.Being pushed so far back means that when United win the ball back, they aren’t high enough up the pitch and they are no longer 1v1 with their opposite numbers.It also stops United from being able to transition quickly enough from defence into attack.The system doesn’t seem to be an issue, it could be more of a personnel problem. The Man Utd front line is dropping back to help the midfieldIt leaves the back three of United effectively marking nobodyWhen they do get the ball back they are too deep and outnumbered by the Man City defenceBRUNO… IT MAKES SENSEBruno Fernandes was really good against City, he was at the heart of every good move that United had. By playing him as one of the attacking three, you have his game intelligence to help them create opportunities and utilise the system.At the moment he doesn’t look like he wants to pass to Rasmus Hojlund and doesn’t have the runs off the ball from elsewhere to feed the passes.There were multiple occasions where Fernandes had the ball in central areas and everyone else was narrow too.If players move into wide areas then Fernandes could definitely be the key to unlocking more and finding the right passes.Bruno Fernandes was the best player on the pitch for Man Utd on SundayFernandes has been Man Utd’s best player this seasonSTRIKER LIGHTBoth Manchester clubs were light up top during the derby, but Man City had an excuse with their superstar striker Erling Haaland missing through injury.Meanwhile United had both Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee available to them and still didn’t manage to find the back of the net.Hojlund has scored just one goal in his last 24 games in all competitions, while Zirkzee only has a marginally better record with two goals in his last 22 appearances for United.Hojlund hasn’t been getting the service that he should be, given the issues that have already been highlighted, but his average position is baffling.The striker’s average position at half time was deeper than Manuel Ugarte’s.Read More on The SunThe Dane doesn’t push the defender back as much as he should and it seems like he has a lack of confidence when it comes to beating a defender 1v1.Zirkzee offered much more in terms of stretching the City defence, but he just isn’t fast enough to make his runs effective.Rasmus Hojlund was so deep throughout the gameIt has been a disappointing campaign for Hojlund More

MANCHESTER UNITED go into Sunday’s derby showdown versus City desperate for a rare double over their fierce rivals.Ruben Amorim and Pep Guardiola both have some huge calls to make with their seasons not exactly going to plan.Ruben Amorim and Pep Guardiola face massive headaches ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derbyCredit: AFPWhat Ruben Amorim chooses to do with struggling Alejandro Garnacho could be keyCredit: APSerial champions City are desperately scrapping for a spot in the top four, while United are in the midst of one of their worst seasons ever.It’s a far cry from the 2011-12 season when the Manchester giants were battling all the way to the final day for the title, with Sergio Aguero’s last-gasp winner vs QPR sealing City’s first Premier League crown on goal difference.So, a slightly different encounter this time around, but a very important one for both sides.In the latest episode of SunSport’s Tactics Exposed, our expert DEAN SCOGGINS breaks down the key points for the derby.READ MORE SPORT STORIESWhy does Amorim keep playing Garnacho on the left?This is a hot topic for United. Alejandro Garnacho is infuriating fans because he’s getting in good positions.So often, United are doing a good job defensively, moving the ball into midfield. They were struggling to get the ball out from the back but they’ve improved.However, Garnacho is getting the ball in wide positions, where he likes it. When he receives the ball, he’s straight away faced up by his defender.He wants to run the defender inside, so you get a centre-back coming across and another centre-back comes in. The defence comes in, then you get a midfielder come back and he ends up in a traffic jam.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSIn the Nottingham Forest game, Forest defended very deep on the edge of their own box and Garnacho had five or six shots from long-range, but none of them were clean – and that’s because he’s crowded out.Second thing: when he gets inside, he’s got a wing-back who likes to run. So Patrick Dorgu is going up the outside of him.’As a player yeah but…’ – Luke Littler forces Roy Keane to agree on Bruno Fernandes but Man Utd legend still makes digGarnacho has struggled on the left due to his habit of running into traffic jams, but could be more effective on the rightCredit: GettyThe number of times he’s making this run and Garnacho is not giving him the ball is infuriating Man Utd fans. That has to change.He has to give the ball to Dorgu in that area for the overlap, because that’s where you open up this space for the cross with the other players arriving.We saw United in previous games – like against Arsenal – when Garnacho was freed up on the right – and that was because he made a run and had a fullback, which was Noussair Mazraoui, running up the inside of him in that position.Whenever Garnacho doesn’t play, everyone’s saying Garnacho should play… and when Garnacho does play, he’s infuriating to watch, but he’s almost there. So he’s got to play.Should he be playing on the left? I’m not quite so sure. Without Amad Diallo, they need a ball runner who will take players on.This Amorim formation is all about players running at full-backs and at defenders to try and take them into the box. And Garnacho is the only real player in the United team who does that.I’d like to see Garnacho on the right in this game, because at the moment, the chemistry between him and Dorgu on the left is not quite there.But I’d like to see Garnacho still in the team… United are going to need an out-ball against Man City, and Garnacho will hopefully provide that.Can United beat City with less possession?Against Nottingham Forest in the week – a 1-0 defeat – Man Utd had nearly 70 per cent possession. Against Man City earlier in the season City had all the possession, and United were comfortable without the ball.United are doing very well at the back at the moment to get into a very good shape from where they can spring counterattacks.That’s a problem when they play against a team who drops right off like Nottingham Forest – but that won’t happen in this game, because City will dominate possession.City will get into a 2-3-5 or 3-2-5 shape in attack and United defenders are going to mark man-for-man.We’ll see wingers being marked by wing-backs, and central midfielders going man-for-man… so, it’s how they get the ball and spring the counter attack.They’ll be quite happy to soak up possession. We saw them do it first half against Arsenal, in a great performance against Liverpool, and then that great win against Manchester City.But… this time it’s at Old Trafford, so they’re going to get a bit of pressure from the crowd. It’s a derby, they want to see progressive football.For me, the transition of defence into attack is where they haven’t quite got it right.It comes in two triangles – one on the right flank and another on the left… if they get the ball in this area, can they play the ball into a player who’s being pressed to either play long or can they get it to a winger to get them into a dangerous 1v1 situation.That’ll be the plan. Whether they can carry that out or not is another matter.Is Marmoush better suited to playing United than Haaland?This is a very difficult question. What team would not have Erling Haaland in it?But, this does happen for Manchester City quite a lot… they get stuck around the edge of the box, and Haaland’s not moving… not doing anything.There’s two sides to that… on the one hand, he is occupying a defender and they want him in the box for the cross.But on the other hand, in the 2-0 win over Leicester midweek, you could see without Haaland that Omar Marmoush and then Doku one side and Savinho the other formed a very flat front three.When they played Newcastle earlier in the season, Marmoush scored a hat-trick as part of a front two with Haaland – but when they play United, that is not going to work, because of their back three.And so if Haaland played, you know United are going to sit deep… they’re immediately a back five, with the wing-backs.It would be a complete traffic jam with fans frustrated because they’re not breaking the lines, with the centre-backs getting loads of touches with passes played back to them.So against United, we’ll see a tight front three from City, with Foden, Marmoush and De Bruyne… they’ll use Savinho, Doku or Grealish to really hold the width on the other side.Because of this narrow front three, you end up with space around the edges of the box and, unlike Haaland, Marmoush won’t just park himself on the centre-back.We’ll see much more rotation of the front three with Marmoush in tandem with one of the other two and then we would have done with Haaland – who can be a bit of a passenger when the opposition parks the bus.Marmoush has had twice as many touches per game than Haaland so far this season, so from the point of view of a frustrated City fan, perhaps Marmoush is the one to unlock things.De Bruyne or Fernandes?Kevin De Bruyne and Bruno Fernandes. The two captains, the two talismans…It will be a really intriguing battle because if we end up with Garnacho on the right and Fernandes plays as one of the attacking midfielders, we could see De Bruyne in the inside right position, where he’s trying to put crosses into the box.It may well be Fernandes who’s tracking him back. And one thing you can guarantee is that De Bruyne will want Fernandes going that way.If Fernandes and De Bruyne are going that way, City are gonna have a lot of joy.But we know Fernandes’ work rate. We know that later in the games, he creates chances. We know that 60, 70, 80 minutes in, it’s Bruno who appears on the ball in an attacking area.Read More on The SunMaybe that’s where Pep will make the change later on. If City are winning the game, take De Bruyne off and get somebody else on Bruno.Put me on the spot, I’m going to back De Bruyne because I fancy hin to get in a position where he’s gonna whip it across the face and Marmoush is going to get on the score sheet.Bruno Fernandes and Kevin De Bruyne could be the key men in the massive derbyCredit: Reuters More

THOMAS TUCHEL will take charge of his first England match tonight as the Three Lions kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign.The former Chelsea boss, who was confirmed as Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor back in October, has already raised some eyebrows with his squad selection.Thomas Tuchel will take charge of his first England match tonightCredit: GettyJordan Henderson was granted a return to the fold, while 32-year-old Dan Burn earned his first call-up.Tuchel is determined to transform England into “the team to beat” ahead of the 2026 World Cup and is therefore set to make some major tactical changes.In the latest episode of SunSport’s Tactics Exposed, our expert DEAN SCOGGINS looks at what the German head coach might choose to do differently.How will England set up?Tuchel is NOT just a three-at-the-back man. It’s not just down to a formation with him.Read More in FootballTuchel favoured a four-at-the-back formation at Borussia DortmundAt PSG it was a three-at-the-back with wing-backsIt was a 3-4-2-1 at ChelseaHe reverted to four-at-the-back for BayernIt’s about the players he has available.At Dortmund, he used four at the back and an adaptive set-up in attack.At PSG, he started with a three-at-the-back, moved to a four-at-the-back and then went to a three-at-the-back again.He tried to evolve a team around Neymar, so he could attempt to do something similar with the England team.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSThen at Chelsea he used wing-backs with three at the back – he even won the Champions League with it.But, do England have the wing backs to do that?Thomas Tuchel blasts Gareth Southgate’s England as ‘more afraid to drop out of Euro 2024 than hungry to win it’ And then at Bayern Munich, he went back to four at the back again.It’s going to be difficult to predict what Tuchel might do, so, we’ve looked at some potential options…Set-upDefensively, there are some big question marks.There is no John Stones in this squad, no Harry Maguire, no real, natural left-back.Myles Lewis-Skelly could be used as an inverted full-back, pushing into midfield alongside Declan RiceCredit: GettyDan Burn may also get some game timeCredit: ReutersMyles Lewis-Skelly has been outstanding for Arsenal, so we could see Kyle Walker play in the right-back position and the teenager in the left-back position,Lewis-Skelly would then likely act as an inverted full-back – a role that has become common in the Premier League.It would see the Arsenal star shift into midfield, forming a back-three with potentially Walker, Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi.Dan Burn could even be given a chance at centre-back.Alternatively, Burn could play as a left-back with Reece James at right-back.James might then be the man to move into midfield, leaving the Newcastle star in the back three.However, the key for Tuchel is getting the best out of his attacking players.Throughout the team there are some other big question marks.Does Jude Bellingham play as the 10? Or does Phil Foden play as a 10 with Bellingham dropping back as an eight with Declan Rice?England will also be without Bukayo Saka for the next two games.Jarrod Bowen could be given a start out on the right, with either Marcus Rashford or Anthony Gordon on the left.Tuchel is into the rotation of players and getting the best out of those who are available to him.Therefore, we could see a three-at-the-back on Friday and a four-a-the-back on Monday.Tuchel will be looking for the two wingers to provide width, which will allow the No.10 to push forward along with another midfielder.That will allow for a 3-2-5 formation going forward. With five players in the attacking third, more options become available.Wingers will therefore be able to interchange and come inside to play off Harry Kane, which is important for Tuchel.Exciting footballWith England, there is no excuse. The players are there to score loads of goals.The best goal-scoring number nine in Europe, the best number eight in Europe in Bellingham. Tuchel might also be able to get more out of Foden in an England squad.When he is fully fit, Cole Palmer will be in there as well.England fans should expect a much higher pressing game than we saw under Southgate.Who will be No10?The 10 position is what Tuchel looks at in his squad and how he’s going to get the best out of his No.10.At Dortmund, he had Ilkay Gundogan in that side – Tuchel got the best out of him.At Bayern, it was Jamal Musiala. At PSG, it was Neymar.With England, it’s Jude Bellingham.Tuchel has to get the best out of Bellingham. He is the talisman.Bellingham is expected to be Tuchel’s chosen No10England are going to get goals from Kane if they give him the ball, there are also loads of options in the wide areas.But how do they get the best out of the No10 playing off Kane?Before, under Southgate, that area of the pitch was too congested because the wingers were not wide enough and the defensive players were pushing too high.Tuchel will want to keep the wingers wide to give the central attacking players – including two potential No10s – more space.The head coach needs to get the best out of the first names on the team sheet, especially Bellingham.Aside from Kane, who will be in attack?Bowen, Gordon and Rashford all like to come inside from their wings.Tuchel had plenty of success with those type of players at Borussia Dortmund, such as Henrikh Mkhitaryan on the wing alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up front.Jarrod Bowen could start on the right in the absence of SakaCredit: AlamyThose players – along with the likes of Gundogan and Shinji Kagawa in midfield – regularly rotated, which benefited the team as a whole.Tuchel wants his attacking stars to move in between positions, which could help to get the best out of the likes of Kane and Bellingham.Which future stars could shine under Tuchel?There’s a feeling around the camp that the Under-21s are as good as the first team at the moment.Ethan Nwaneri has been a revelation at Arsenal in the absence of Saka, who is also not in the team due to injury.Lewis-Skelly is in the squad, but Adam Wharton missed out – even though Tuchel likes to rely on a ball-playing midfielder who links play, which isn’t necessarily Rice’s game.READ MORE SUN STORIESLewis Hall would also be a good option at left-back for future fixtures.The Newcastle ace has been ruled out for the rest of this season with a foot injury.The human tuchENGLAND’S new boss Thomas Tuchel has announced his first squad – to mixed reaction. 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