Erik ten Hag's latest Man United strategy is a carbon copy of Pep Guardiola's and Jurgen Klopp's tactics.
With his latest tactical change at Old Trafford following another Europa League victory, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has taken a page from the playbooks of some of his closest rivals. Erik ten Hag's recent tactic is inspired by rival managers Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, as the Manchester United manager begins to deploy his full-backs in an inverted role.
That's according to ex-Red Devils midfielder Owen Hargreaves, who noticed the trend while watching United's Europa League home match against Cypriot side Omonia. Scott McTominay's 93rd-minute winner saved the hosts' blushes when it appeared that their visitors were all set to hold on for what would have been two embarrassing points dropped by Ten Hag's side. Hargreaves explained what he saw from United's full-back pairing after the game: "We haven't really seen it, we seen [sic] it at Ajax but the full-backs are coming inside, you see [Diogo] Dalot in there - we see it from Pep and his teams and United are doing it today."
"It's not just Dalot; [Tyrell] Malacia has been in the center of midfield, going inside and eventually outside. He's trying to overload inside to gain a numerical advantage; so far, it hasn't worked, but the defenders will be in central areas in the second half." Sure enough, Hargreaves' assessment was correct, and United's relentless attacking pressure eventually paid off as they scored the goal that gives them all three points and keeps them breathing down Real Sociedad's neck.
Full-backs trying to take on more central roles is something that we've seen for a while with Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp's teams, and Trent Alexander-Arnold is performing so well that there are calls for him to be permanently moved into a midfield role.
Dalot is one player who has benefited greatly from Ten Hag's arrival, with previous coaches such as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick frequently preferring Aaron Wan-Bissaka over the Portuguese international.
The United manager applauded his players' efforts at full-time, despite the fact that they were only seconds away from becoming the punchline to many jokes if they failed to beat a side currently sitting outside the top five of the Cypriot first division. "They kept their faith and that's why they won," Ten Hag asserted. "I must commend the team.
"We stayed patient, got in the right positions, created chances, and didn't let the opponent come out, so I think they did well." The performance was excellent."
Ten Hag will be well aware that United will need to perform significantly better since they did on Thursday night if they are to beat Real Sociedad in their final group stage game and avoid having to play an extra two games in the round of 32 as a result of finishing second in the group.
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