Replay of Manchester United 2-2 Saints: compared with being forced to pass and run to suppress, the lack of backhand is more damaging to the fight for four

A 96th-minute equalizer was scored by the opponent, and Solskjaer's United could only get one point at home, failing to lead the team to third place in the league. However, the team has already caught up with Leicester City in the standings and is in fifth place with a three-goal difference.

From the actual course of the game, United suffered a bigger test in this match: the Saints' high pressing and passing, and running in space put United's defense under more pressure. With the right side being restricted, the left side of United's attack was the better play in this game. Unfortunately, United had more chances to score than their opponents, but in the last 7 minutes, they could only face the battle with 10 men and finally lost 2 points.

Lineups]

United's lineup: 1-De Gea, 23-Luke Shaw (75' 53-Williams), 5-Maguire, 2-Lindelof, 29-Wan-Bissaka, 31-Matic, 6-Pogba (63' 17-Fred), 18-Bruno Fernandes (85 ' 39-McTominay), 26-Greenwood (84' 21-Daniel James), 9-Machal, 10-Rashford

Substitutes not playing: 22-Romero, 3-Bailly, 15-Andreas Pele, 8-Mata, 25-Ighalo

Southampton Starting XI: 1-A McCarthy, 24-Walker Peeters, 5-Jack Stephens, 35-Jan Bednarek, 21-Bertrand, 14-Romeu (87' 20-Obafemi), 16-Ward-Prowse, 17-Armstrong (70' 27-Smolben) 22-Raymond, 9-Danny Ince, 10-Che Adams (64' 7-Shawn Long)

Substitutes not playing: 28-Gunn, 4-Westgate, 38-Kevin Danso, 29-Wiggins, 23-Hoybear, 47-Ferry

The Saints' frantic high pressing was effective, and United's organization encountered difficulties in pushing forward].

The Saints, under the coaching of Hansen Hüttl, have a high tactical recognition: high pressing and fast passing and running.

In this game, the Saints' high-pressure pressing achieved good results in general, especially in the closing stages of the game. It was most effective in the opening stages when they were physically fit.

The Saints made a total of 59 counterattacks in the match, covering the area between the two penalty areas. In the first 15 minutes, they made 13 tackles.

With such excellent pressure, United's organizational advancement encountered great problems: 1.

1. United completed 55 long passes and conceded as many as 27 in the whole match.

2, Pogba and Matic lost the ball a total of 8 times, 5 times in their half. Especially Pogba, he lost the ball 3 times in the first half on the right side of the box, including the time when he lost the ball.

When United chose to pass back to the backfield, the Saints' high pressure in front of the field was sufficient. The tall Pogba, who had some shortcomings in his speed, was finished off by Danny Ince, who was good at pressing, and the Saints launched a quick counterattack. At this time, the two Manchester United wingbacks were responsible for pulling the width, and it was difficult to return to the position in the face of the fast attack to defense, and eventually, the opponent was dispatched to the back to finish the score.

In the second half, with the substitution of Pogba and the substitution of B fee due to physical reasons, United had formed a situation of recycling counter-attack. If the center can't form a tandem to push forward, it is monotonous to rely only on the side to counter-attack. Therefore, losing control of the ball under the opponent's fast passing and running is inevitable.

[The right side was completely suppressed only to achieve the response, the left side of Manchester United's attack started]

In this game, both sides' attacks showed a one-sided dominance, and the core reason was very obvious: the

1, the Saints left side of Raymond and Bertrand have confrontation and impact speed, in the offensive end can become dominant at the same time can also provide defensive confrontation. Technology is not delicate Wan-Bissaka and the body is not fully "open" Greenwood is undoubtedly in the attacking end of the ball impact on the disadvantage.

2, Manchester United's left side of Rashford and Luke Shaw has an excellent impact, facing Saint's right side of the defense has the advantage. Moreover, Martial had more left-leaning work in this game (especially in the first half), and United achieved the pressure on this side.

As a result, even if United's attack was organized to advance on the right side of the backfield, apart from long passes, it was left to Greenwood to drop back for tackling. For the game, he completed a total of 20 passes (18 successful) but had 13 returns (12 successful) to directly reflect this.

Greenwood's drop-back crosses are good, and the fact that all five of his crosses in the game were successful shows that.

More crucially, Greenwood's tackling runs, in essence, helped United break the tightness in the backfield, especially when the Saints were in the first wave of physical "deficit" before the rehydration. The most direct manifestation of this was United's second goal.

Shaw was holding the ball on the left side and had to pass it back in the face of pressure. When the ball was transferred to the right side through the center back, Greenwood's run took Ward-Prowse directly away and Pogba was open at that point. So, Pogba connected with B fee, who passed the ball to find Martial on the left side, who could pass to the back point or cut inside to work, and eventually, he finished directly with a wonderful score.

For this mode of operation, whether it is a targeted arrangement by Sochaux or a change in the field only because of the substantial inability to suppress the opponent's left side, I am afraid only Sochaux and the players are clear. However, the threat of United's left side attack was self-evident: Shaw, Rashford, and Martial kept working together to impact, leaving Saints wing-back Peters in a very difficult position. Unfortunately, United failed to seize the opportunity to cash in on more goals.

[Overwhelmed by the pass and run impact, Manchester United showed the dilemma of lack of substitution battle power].

The Saints' excellent passing and running ability in front of the ball had a huge killing effect on Manchester United, who is taller overall and has some shortcomings in athletic ability.

In this game, the Saints completed 162 passes in front of the field (including passes to the front) and succeeded 106 times. And we can see that the left side and the middle of the field became the focus of their passing game, and the left side and the middle of the field were also the focus areas in terms of getting the ball to the box effectively.

In this situation, it was reasonable for Sochaux to replace Pogba with Fred, who is relatively mobile, as the first change in the second half. Moreover, the Saints continued to use the center forward to counter the impact and then replaced B fee with McTominay, no problem. The team's core goal is to limit the opponent's use of United's waist gap and prevent them from making effective link-ups with the two sides of the field.

In this case, without Pogba and B fee, United's center-back's ability to organize and advance, especially accurate forward passing, became insufficient. The offensive end is unable to achieve counter-pressure. What would have been the effect if United had replaced B fee with Glalish or Greenwood with Sancho in midfield? It might be worth thinking about.

After being pinned down, United's lack of fitness and athleticism exacerbated the defensive line's problems as the Saints continued to create chances.

United's running and standing of players in the half-court defense was overall not a problem. However, the Saints' better passing and running allowed them to directly create an open opportunity for Raymond. At this time, the more physically deficient Matic, who was unable to be the first to close down Raymond in his defensive stance, was able to use his opponent's mobility to finish inside the goal as a reflection of his overall predicament.

They scored the equalizing corner kick in extra time, also from the left side with the impact.

Southampton showed full aggressiveness in this game, and their players were more "reckless" in the confrontation. Moreover, the high pressing and the passing and running at the attacking end were completely displayed. United's attack on the left side of the field was improved this game, and although they created more absolute scoring chances, they were more restricted overall, especially in the passive phase of the game in the second half, when the substitutes could not come on to bring the tactical counter-pressure.

This is a reflection of the stability of United's main framework, but it also exacerbates the team's depletion which can easily form a weak situation at the back. Luke Shaw and B-Williams have retired, bringing a huge impact on Manchester United, not only in the last 7 minutes United can only play one less person but also in the next formation has a direct impact.