In the middle of the first half of the Manchester derby, Alex Ferguson smiled at the lens of the TV broadcast. The legendary coach came to see the success of Ralf Rangnick in restarting Manchester United. City graciously set up a screen in front of the Scottish sir. A mini-TV played the highlights of the match. Considering the victory of the hosts, it looked like a mockery.
The sense of irony over Ferguson intensified due to the successful tactics of Manchester United. City won once morest Rangnick’s interesting plan. Pep Guardiola was helped by details and micro-tunings.
Manchester City
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Before the game, Rangnick emphasized that Manchester United should not play the entire match on the defensive. Ralph cited the example of Arsenal, Southampton and Tottenham, who defeated City by forgoing defense in depth. The thought of the German was partially transferred to the field.
Defensively, Manchester United used a 4-4-2 formation, classic for the Rangnick era. The team fought back in the middle block, but sometimes included pressure. United’s defense focused on someone else’s support zone. On the one hand, Paul Pogba covered direct passes to Rodri, which made it difficult for City to advance the ball from the bottom. On the other hand, Ralph’s central midfielders limited other people’s displacements in depth.
4-4-2 formation in Manchester United’s defense once morest City
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Pogba marks Rodri without the ball
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Pogba turned out to be a key player for Manchester United’s attack as well. Formally, Rangnik released the Frenchman in an unusual position – forward. In fact, United’s attack is too mobile to distinguish clear roles.
Pogba did not play a pure striker. Paul actively moved inward, from where he helped with the advancement of the ball. More than half of the Frenchman’s actions (17 out of 31) took place in Manchester United’s home half. An example is the only United goal in which a playmaker assisted Jadon Sancho.
Pogba took the ball deep to assist Sancho
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City have discovered several ways to get past Manchester United’s defense. Visually, the hosts added to the attack by the end of the first half. Perhaps the success of the victorious “Manchester” was associated with a pause in the 35th minute, in which Guardiola actively scattered tactical tasks.
Pep’s first successful decision was connected with the left flank. Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and Joao Cancelo consistently overloaded this area. Guardiola used a similar move in the match once morest Tottenham. Against both Spurs and neighbors, the Catalan’s idea led to a goal. In the case of the derby, we are talking regarding the first goal of Kevin de Bruyne.
Overloading City’s left flank before De Bruyne’s goal
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Even Guardiola successfully bypassed the blocking of the support zone. Silva, Grealish and other City attackers did not go down to Rodri, so as not to get bogged down in someone else’s defense, but looked for space between the lines and rivals. Below is an example from the 45th minute, which ended with a foul on Phil Foden.
Foden opened up in City’s midfield. A second later, Phil will take the ball and provoke Lindelof to foul
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Finally, City got through United’s defense thanks to Kyle Walker. The importance of the Briton was hinted at in the 32nd minute, when Ederson chaotically but beautifully knocked out from under pressure on the right flank, and the former Tottenham defender arched in flight and passed to his partner.
City released Walker through manipulation of the Manchester United scheme. One of the attacking players went down to the middle line and pulled the attention of the opponents. Plus, Sancho was distracted, who was supposed to patronize Kyle.
De Bruyne moved in and distracted McTominay. Sancho turned to Stones. Result – City opened the Walker zone, through which they dispersed the attack
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All of Guardiola’s work came together in the stretch following the third goal, when City’s possession reached 90%. The hosts easily controlled the ball in the home half and above, if necessary, they sharpened it. Manchester United lost their enthusiasm and Rangnick’s dreams of control were finally shattered.
United have a solid starting plan. With the score 2:1, City remained a shaky favorite. Rangnick had a chance of success until Guardiola’s micro-decisions kicked in. Proof – in the second half, Manchester United did not deliver a single blow to Ederson’s goal.
Some of City’s goals seemed random. Both De Bruyne’s balls flew in without obvious errors from Manchester United, Riyad Mahrez’s first successful shot is the fruit of personal skill. Only Guardiola achieved complete control through tactics. Pep’s success is a hint of a future championship.
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