Premier League best & worst: Alex Keble's pick of the weekend including analysis of the Manchester derby, Liverpool & Everton tactics
Alex Keble is back with his pick of the weekend's tactical analysis, including good news for Man Utd and praise for both Liverpool and Everton.
Best of the weekend
Man Utd’s incisive counter-attacks give Solskjaer hope
For the second game in a row Manchester United, against all the odds, had a clear plan that was carried out as a collective. The front three of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Daniel James were the most eye-catching players running at the heart of the City back line, but it was Fred and Jesse Lingard who held the key to exposing Man City’s inability to deal with defensive transitions.
With Kyle Walker again ineffective screening as a central midfielder and Angelino constantly caught ahead of the play, United could freely attack into open spaces down either flank and through the centre – where Rodri was left with far too much to do. Slow centre-backs didn’t help, either.
But the under-appreciated heroes of the match were Fred and Lingard, whose ability to play sharp one-touch passes and dribble away from danger helped United get around the initial City press. Once Pep Guardiola’s first-wave swarm is bypassed, there is no Fernandinho backing up and not enough quality in the back four to compensate.
The real story here, though, is that Man Utd have a template to follow; an identity to build the Solskjaer Era around. The only problem is this aggressive counter-attacking approach only really works when the opposition has most of the possession (hence their undefeated record against the ‘Big Six’), something United won’t be facing very often.
Liverpool’s squad depth, & attacking variation, suggests title race is over
Liverpool’s heavy rotation over the last four days has, including injuries, meant none of Fabinho, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Jordan Henderson have started both of the games against Everton and Bournemouth. And yet Liverpool won both, scoring eight goals from seven different players, with Naby Keita’s goal meaning they have surpassed last year’s total with 16 different scorers in 2019/20.
The idea Liverpool lack strength in depth has been refuted for good. In fact, the likes of Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Xherdan Shaqiri bring entirely different qualities to the team, shaking Liverpool out of well-worn attacking grooves that increase the club’s creativity in short bursts. Either that or an eight-point lead has simply relieved pressure to such an extent that Liverpool’s fringe players have the patience and lightness to play above themselves.
Either way it looks like nothing can stop Jurgen Klopp’s side from winning the title. It might only be eight points to Leicester City but surely they don’t have the quality to hit 90+ points this year. The real threat – Man City – are 14 behind, an insurmountable number.
Ferguson’s Atletico-like debut shows the power of charisma
Everton were magnificent on Saturday, playing an aggressive 4-4-2 system that made them look like a Diego Simeone team despite Duncan Ferguson having just one day in training to get his ideas across. They were brilliantly compressed, sitting stubbornly in a midblock that squeezed out the number 10 space – Chelsea’s favourite path to the penalty area – and snapped into tackles whenever the ball entered the Everton half.
Listen to the Goodison Park roar!
— Fitba on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 7, 2019
What a moment for Duncan Ferguson and what a win for Everton 👊 pic.twitter.com/8g13ngWKne
Given that Ferguson can’t have done more than spend a few hours working on defensive shape and how to stay compact as you shimmy left and right, the energy and tenacity of the Everton performance must be the impact of having a charismatic – OK, terrifying – man in the dugout. How else to explain the turnaround from lackadaisical football under Marco Silva to what we saw against Chelsea?
Everton made 37 tackles, their joint-highest this decade, per Sky Sports’ Adam Bate. Inspiring that kind of work-rate should get Ferguson the job on a full-time basis given the board are already looking at fierce fire-fighters like David Moyes to get them out of trouble. Anyone who can get Gylfi Sigurdsson to diligently hold his ground in a two-man midfield deserves the gig.
Worst of the weekend
Chelsea are developing some worrying creativity issues
On the flip side, Chelsea will be disappointed they couldn’t find a way to break the tactical pattern of the match at Goodison Park. So far in his reign Frank Lampard has relied on creative freedom among his hungry young players, with the likes of Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic roaming freely into the number ten space to charge directly at defences. It looks as though this lack of attacking coaching is finally taking its toll.
Chelsea have now won just one of their last five, collected 11 points from their last eight, and scored just three goals in their last three games. It’s only a minor bad patch, for now, but there is a growing sense that Lampard’s side are slowing down – and that opponents are working out how to nullify them.
"If ever a game shows how far we still need to go this is it."
— Fitba on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 7, 2019
A reality check for Frank Lampard and his young Chelsea side after their third defeat in four games.
🎙️ @DesKellyBTS pic.twitter.com/PMhNbsSXo5
Callum Hudson-Odoi’s return might have been expected to solve this issue, but at the moment it has only highlighted the fact Chelsea are overstocked in fast, direct players and lack playmakers who can pick a lock. With Spurs just six points behind in the race for the top four, Lampard needs to find a playmaker in January.
Burnley’s dreadful shape makes Mourinho-ball look easy
Tottenham looked superb in their 5-0 win on Saturday, showing a great mix of patient possession football and direct attacking patterns that showed Spurs are quickly looking like a proper Jose Mourinho team. The constant long diagonal passes out to Serge Aurier, sitting on the right wing, helped stretch Burnley and get Tottenham into the final third far more quickly than they would have done under Mauricio Pochettino.
Furthermore, Spurs’ ability to suddenly change gears and either attack in fours or fives or switch the play was peak Mourinho – and a worthwhile reminder that the Portuguese is wrongly seen as a negative tactician. His teams can be very exciting to watch, particularly with counter-attacking players as breath-taking as Heung-Min Son.
But Burnley made it far too easy. Their 4-4-2 was bizarrely fanned out, elongated across a good 70-yard span of the pitch throughout those crucial opening 10 minutes. Leaving so much space between the lines made it easy for Son, Dele Alli, and Harry Kane to simply drop into the gaps and launch breaks, while Moussa Sissoko only had to dribble past one player to beat a whole line of four. Sean Dyche will be bitterly disappointed.
Aston Villa fail to adapt to Rodgers’ unexpected formation
Few anticipated Leicester City lining up in a diamond 4-4-2 at Villa Park, with Kelechi Iheanacho getting his first start of the season alongside Jamie Vardy, but nevertheless Dean Smith was too slow to react to Brendan Rodgers’ system.
The Leicester manager was clever in exposing Villa’s flaws; the narrow midfield crowded out Jack Grealish (who likes to cut inside) with Rodgers safe in the knowledge Villa rarely threaten the wings, while playing two up front exposed Villa’s too-high defensive line and overly attacking full-backs.
Smith should have adapted once it was clear Vardy would be put through again and again. Instead, Matt Targett and Ahmed Elmohamedy kept darting forward, unable to resist the open grass ahead of them with Leicester’s diamond so narrow. In the end, 4-1 flattered Villa.
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