Man Utd vs Copenhagen: What Went Wrong For United in the First Half?
Manchester United faced off against Copenhagen at Old Trafford in the Champions League this past Tuesday. United would end up coming away a 1–0 victory and the three points thanks to a Harry Maguire goal. An Andre Onana penalty stop at the very end of stoppage time would also help to preserve the three points and give them their first win in the Champions League this season. Throughout the match United looked poor, a trend that has been see throughout the rest of the season. The first half in particular United looked dreadfully poor, arguably playing the worst football they had all season. When referee Marco Guida blew his whistle for halftime United were met with an array of boos from the largely frustrated Old Trafford crowd. But what made United so poor in the first half? In this article we will take a deep dive into the tactics deployed by United manager Erik Ten Hag and why they looked so underwhelming in the first 45 minutes.
Manchester United’s biggest problem throughout the course of the first half was how poor they were in possession of the ball. They were slow, careful, and predictable. They also did not have a consistent attacking shape as they opted too buildup using one of two. The first 15 minutes of the match Copenhagen looked to be the dominant side and began getting a foothold in the match. When United got onto the ball they chose to move into one of two attacking shapes that were seen in the first half. The two shapes utilized by United was a 3–4–3 or a 3–2–5. United’s problems didn’t come from the shapes that they chose to use because these shapes have been shown to have great success for other clubs but rather came from the way they used their personnel in the shapes. The first mistake came from opting to play Bruno so deep when building out. Having Bruno Fernandes play so deep in the backfield means that you are lacking creativity in the final third. This was a trend seen as United struggled heavily to create chances.
The second mistake made was the choice to give McTominay the start, but not only that, the way which Ten Hag choice to use him. Making the choice to drop a player who had scored 3 goals in their last two appearances is difficult but it shouldn’t be when the player has such a negative affect on the way United play. Ten Hag chose to play McTominay in a much more advanced role than he is used too. Typically he plays as a defensive midfielder but in the match against Copenhagen he was played as a 10. This was the main reason forcing Bruno to have to drop in between Maguire and Varane. McTominay was also incredibly poor in the first half. He offered very little to United when building out and made Copenhagen’s task of defending much easier.
Amrabat was played at his most comfortable position, that being as the 6. He was one of United’s best players in the first half and got on the ball a lot. However, United’s attacking shape did not help him. Copenhagen opted to play a deep 4–4–2 when they were not in possession. The problem that Amrabat found himself in was that he had very little help in the midfield. As discussed before McTominay offered virtually nothing so Amrabat found himself between the Copenhagen front two and midfield 4 by himself with Mctominay. This did not give United the opportunity to dictate play through the midfield and resulted in them attempting to dump the ball over the top or down the wings to create chances.
Moving foward for United it is very important that they sort out how they play when they are in possession if they want to get their season back on track. Every top club in the world has a clear cut system that makes them successful and it is up to Erik Ten Hag to correct this if he wants to begin to see better results from his side. With the Manchester Derby coming up it will be interesting to see how United perfrom. A win could help give them the confidence to turn the season around similar to how the 2–1 win vs Liverpool last season helped correct their form. Will Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United grab the worlds attention and shock City? Or will Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City grab another comfortable three points?
