Manchester United Tactics
In spite of all the lavish spending and the immense hype surrounding Louis Van Gaal, Manchester United have started off much worse than David Moyes did last term. Although there have been a lot of positive changes in the recent matches, United has failed to reap the points despite the comparatively easy run of fixtures. One man who has managed to impress everyone even amidst the various ups and downs of the side is Angel Di Maria. The Argentine became the British record signing with his £59.7 million arrival from Real Madrid and despite the pressure of the hefty price tag, has settled into the Premier League with considerable ease. But having started his Premier League life with a bang, Di Maria’s performances have dipped a bit in the last couple of matches. And we at SoccerSouls, take a detailed look at why.
Di Maria debuted for Manchester United in the goalless stalemate against Burnley, playing alongside Darren Fletcher in central midfield in a 3-5-2 formation. In the later 4 matches, United shifted to the 4-3-1-2 formation, with Di Maria playing in the 3 man midfield. But in the last 3 matches United has changed their formation once again to a 4-2-3-1, with Di Maria moved to the flanks. Considering the stats and figures in these three scenarios, it is evident that the move to the flank has not really benefitted Di Maria.
Against Burnley, with United playing the 3 man backline, Di Maria never had the full license to go upfront as much as he has now, especially since the arrival of Daley Blind. Yet, he managed to make 4 accurate long balls from the 7 he tried and succeeded once in 2 attempts for a through ball.
It was against QPR that United tried the 4-3-1-2 for the first time and Di Maria looked a menace in the three man midfield alongside Daley Blind and Ander Herrera. The Argentine had 7 out of his 14 long balls and one attempted through ball successful and had 4 key passes throughout the match, with a total pass accuracy of 80.3%. Di Maria created a similar impact against Leicester City- 4 key passes, 4 out of 6 accurate long balls and 1 out of 1 accurate through balls.
Against West Ham the next gameweek, Di Maria started well but Wayne Rooney’s dismissal meant much of his attacking instincts were cut short yet managed 2 key passes and 3/5 accurate long balls. But he was back against Everton with 5 key passes and all 5 of his long balls finding the targets. He had a pass accuracy of 87.2% and made 4 successful dribbles past the Everton players and also took 6 shots out of which 2 were on target.
Thus, Di Maria managed 3 goals, 3 assists, 16 key passes, 12 successful dribbles and an average pass accuracy of 80.4%. Di Maria also had an incredible long ball accuracy of 62.16% with 23 out of 37 long balls finding the target and a 50% through ball accuracy rate. All this time, Di Maria also attempted a whopping 47 crosses from the 5 games with only 10 of it being successful. It is also to be noted that out of this 10, 7 came against Everton where he made a total of 19 crosses.
Against West Bromwich Albion, as United moved to a 4-2-3-1, Di Maria shifted to the left flanks. But although he is naturally a winger, Di Maria’s impact has been cut down significantly since he has moved to a wider role. Against West Bromwich, he could only manage 2 key passes and only had 3 out of his 8 long balls successful. With room on the flanks, Di Maria attempted 19 crosses with only 3 of them successful. Against Chelsea, even though he managed 5 key passes including the free-kick that lead to the equalizer, he looked sloppy in possession and had only 6 out of his 18 crosses and only 2 of his 4 long balls being successful. With Manchester City last weekend, Di Maria put up one of his weakest performances with a pass accuracy of 65.1% summing up his game. 3 out of 9 crosses and 1 out of 5 long balls were successful and all of his three through ball attempts failed to find the target.
In the three games he has been moved to the flanks, Di Maria has no goals, 1 assist, 10 key passes and a pass accuracy of 75.2%. His long ball accuracy fell to a meager 35.29% and through ball accuracy fell from 50% to 25%. In what seems to be the only plus side, he has shown more tendency to shoot since he has been moved to the wide role, with 11 shots from matches out of which 5 were on target, in contrast to 4 out of 14 shots on taret in 5 matches.
Keeping aside the Burnley game considering that it was his first match in the Premier League and he was played with a bit of defensive duty as well, Di Maria’s performances from the remaining 4 games in the central role has been way better than the ones he has put up from a wider role. Out wide, his game has been limited to either cutting inside and shooting or making a cross unlike the central role, where he had a better passing range and options to choose from. With the differences evident from the stats and his performances, it is high time United return to the 4-3-1-2 as soon as possible with Di Maria instilled back in the centre of midfield.
[STATS CREDITS: WHOSCORED]