da betsson： This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
da luck： A question that has reared its ugly head in the past few months of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign at Manchester United, is the Norwegian good enough tactically? After all, the man who got Cardiff relegated, succeeded Jose Mourinho – the ultimate mastermind when it comes to setting teams up.
But against Liverpool on Sunday, the Red Devils boss more than held his own against Jurgen Klopp and sprung a major tactical surprise by opting to go for a 5-3-2 formation – a real change-up from the more traditional 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 set-ups we have seen from United since Solskjaer took over. If anything, it completely upset the visitors’ game-plan, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson in particular often being caught in no-mans land with their positioning.
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In the end, United could only hold on for a draw as Adam Lallana netted a late equaliser. But it was a performance that no doubt gave great encouragement to the players and the manager that they can compete with some of the best teams in the league.
However, the formation does come with a curse. Sunday’s approach was designed to stifle the Reds’ greatest attacking threats, chiefly from the wide areas. It didn’t particularly do much in the way of getting the likes of Marcus Rashford and Daniel James chance after chance – the duo had just two attempts on goal in the entire game.
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Anthony Martial’s return from injury gives Solskjaer a reinforcement in the number nine role, but in this system, where would the Frenchman fit? The success of United’s game-plan on Sunday revolved around Rashford and James doing the dirty work off the ball, and running into the channels and making life difficult for the Liverpool centre-backs.
Case in point, Rashford’s lung-busting chase of a long ball that eventually saw him bully Virgil van Dijk. For all of Martial’s technical quality, would he offer the same defensive output? It therefore leaves the United manager with the big conundrum of having to leave one of his most prolific strikers out. Because quite simply, how do you go away from a formation that served you so well against the reigning Champions League holders and a team that had gone flawless in the Premier League?
Essentially, Solskjaer’s own tactical masterclass has backed him into a corner. Whilst it may have solved a huge problem on Sunday, it now raises further questions that need answering.