Things to learn from Manchester United Vs Manchester City: Manchester United beat Manchester City 2-1 at Old Trafford. The Theatre Of Dreams finally regained some of its charm under Erik Ten Hag. It was one of the biggest wins of the Dutchman’s career as the Manchester United boss, since taking charge at the start of the current campaign.
Though there were some controversial calls made in the game, the hosts won the match. And this benefited Arsenal fans, as much as it did good for them. Ten Hag would have been proud of the boys for sure. What a transformation!!
At the end of the day, the result pushed Manchester United to third place. They are now just a point behind the defending champions. Further, it means, advantage Arsenal.
Here are three key things that the Gunners and manager Mikel Arteta needs to learn from the Manchester United vs Manchester City match if he wants to win the league by beating the current English champs-
3. Haaland gets isolated quite a bit if the right player marks him!!
When the right kind of pressure is applied, even the best can have an off day. That is exactly what happened to Haaland, who was marked by Luke Shaw and Varane right throughout the game. When needed to defend, the duo was on point. Ten Hag used the Englishman in this new role at LCB in a back-four.
It was something unique to watch and the fans loved what they saw. Manchester United kept the player quiet and he barely had 2 shots in the whole match. Imagine the guy who couldn’t stop scoring, being so bad. But, it is what it is at the end of the day. And that hurt the visitors.
2. Fred did his job and kept Kevin De Bruyne quiet in the Manchester United Vs Manchester City game
Brazilian midfielder Fred had one job in this game. “You had 1 job, Fred” and you did it really well!! Great game from the Manchester United star, who has grown in recent years. He really kept the Belgian quiet for most of the match. The only time when he couldn’t deal with KDB, was for the opening goal.
Mistakes like that can happen. However, keeping De Bruyne quiet for most of the match and cutting off the supply to Haaland and co. by blocking his creative play was an absolute masterclass once again on Ten Hag’s part. Great to watch!!
1. Ten Hag targetted the left-side in the second half to overload and attack from Kyle Walker’s side
And when things are not going your way and you want to turn a match on its head, what do you do then!? You attack the weak-link in the opponent’s backline!! That’s exactly what Ten Hag did by aggressively attacking a tired Kyle Walker’s side. The Dutchman brought on Garnacho for Eriksen, and overloaded the left-wing.
Now, Malacia, Garnacho and Luke Shaw were all attacking from the left consistently, with Casemiro falling back and being another CB in disguise. The attacking threat was quite evident and once the hosts equalized, Garnacho’s constant presence got him the assist for the winner, as he played the perfect ball into the box and Rashford backed that goal.
At the end of the day, all three tactics worked perfectly. Erik Ten Hag had showcased once again why he is a great manager. The Red Devils picked up all three points from the Manchester United Vs Manchester City match and the Old Trafford faithful, including Sir Alex himself were rather overjoyed by the win.
Now, if Arsenal want to beat City at least once (if not twice), they have these things to implement in their games. However, one thing that would be on their mind too is that Manchester United could also be serious title contenders this season. Let’s wait and watch how things develop now!! Kudos to Ten Hag and his team!!
