Tactical Analysis: Southampton FC under Ralph Hasenhuttl

by | Dec 17, 2020

iThe rise of “Alpine Jurgen Klopp” and Southampton to top of the tier is nothing short of a fairytale journey. The Austrian once played with the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Phillip Lahm, Paolo Guerrero at Bayern II, the reserves side of FC Bayern Munich. Before that, he had 2 good spells in Germany with FC Koln and Greuther Furth and picked up 8 International caps too with a return of 3 goals at international stage.

Before starting his managerial career at senior level, Ralph managed the youth teams of German side SpVgg Unterhaching from July, 2004 to March, 2007. Following the sacking of Harry Deutinger, he became the caretaker manager and then, the assistant manager. On 4th October, he became the first team manager, embarking on his managerial career. In the 2008–09 season, in the newly formed 3. Liga (The German third division), the team’s performances earned them fourth place in the table, missing out on a play-off place by one point. His job at SpVgg Unterhaching ended in a stalemate as the team could not build up on a good start under the manager’s first full season at the helm.

Hasenhuttl then switched to fellow strugglers VfR Aalen, steering them away from relegation and keeping them heads and water away from there. This attracted the attention of FC Ingolstadt. FC Ingolstadt, formed in 2004 with the backing of automobile giants Audi looked like an ambitious project in the beginning but it started losing it’s track when they ended up reaching 2. Bundesliga, with a series of poor result and the stagnation of the project saw the club falling back into the third division. His main purpose was to steady the ship and clear the mess left for him by previous managers. But little did the administration know that this mercurial manager will make the best out of this “mess”. In his short stint at Bavarian club, he catapulted them to the Top Division- Bundesliga with 2 successive promotions and playing an expansive yet defensively solid brand of football, a brand which he has carried forward to RB Leipzig and Southampton FC.

“A small town known because of the name of Audi suddenly got associated with Football because of the brand of football Ralph made the team play”. These were the words of Ramzan Ozcan- who left for German giants Bayer Leverkusen in 2016. Playing his favoured 4-2-2-2 and sometimes 4-3-3 for more balanced output, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s tactics brought the best out of up and coming players like Danny Da Costa, Pascal Groß, Caiuby who were then snapped up by teams in Bundesliga and Premier League respectively.

Ralph further made strides in Bundesliga when he became the manager of yet another club whose rise to the top of the pyramid has been nothing but shocking and surprising: RB Leipzig. It is the place where he made further strides which reached to different parts of Europe. His favoured 4-2-2-2 and intense counter pressing Tactical instructions took the entire Bundesliga by surprise with exquisite performances by attacking quartet: Timo Werner, Yusuf Poulsen, Emil Forsberg, Marcel Sabitzer which catapulted the East German side from Leipzig to 2nd place in the table. With Champions League all confirmed, this was yet another achievement in the Austrian’s budding career. A sub-par second season saw Leipzig just make the Europa League spots with Austrian ending this chapter of his career.

Next up: the city of Southampton.

With Southampton FC also defying all odds, from reaching Premier League to reaching Europa League group stages-defeating the mighty Inter Milan a few years back, they were also suffering from stagnation and a certain relegation with poor managerial appointments and transfer business. Another opportunity for the Austrian to steady the ship. But there were struggles, a lot of those. Injuries, players out of form, his tactics and training regime not being suitable according to the tempo of English Football at initial stages. All of this were amplified by Southampton’s horrendous 9-0 home loss against Leicester City in 2019-20 season. Many in The Saints Faithfuls started doubting if his ideas will actually steady the ship or not. But it was the trust of the board and the players and remaining fanbase in the manager which saw him turn this misery into a redemption arc.

Tactical Setup

Basing his game on Liverpool FC’s current manager Jurgen Klopp, Saints like to press aggressively and in upwards section of the pitch. But their counter pressing has a lot of different patterns. They tend to pounce on 2nd or 3rd balls in the central portion of the pitch. Hence creating an overload in the Midfield to win the battle there and regain possession. After their humiliating defeat to young and energetic Leicester City, Hasenhuttl changed his expansive 4-2-2-2 into a somewhat narrow 4-4-2 to provide extra defensive stability. This rather brought out the best in Danny Ings- a favourite pick among Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players . Now adapting this template, The Saints, while in attacking transition take up a shape of 4-2-2-2, playing an expansive brand of direct football with fluid transitions.

This brand of football is dependent on the player’s commitment and work rate, both in offensive and defensive phase. The likes of Danny Ings, Che Adams, Theo Walcott make that possible. In defensive transition, this aggressive style is again evident. The team’s collective Technical Ability make it possible to switch back to a narrower 4-4-2, providing some defensive stability against counter attacks where the midfield duo comes into life, winning plenty of duels and cutting off passing lanes while the front 2 or 4 constantly apply pressure on opposition’s midfield and defense to bring about a change in possession. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg made this transition very successful which eventually earned him a move to Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspurs.

 

Hasenhuttl has always maintained his approach by commenting,

“the best playmaker is always the player that wins the ball”.

With Southampton FC starting new season with a renewed faith in the manager and his Tactical Instructions, it has again been repaid in kind. Southampton is now sitting at 3th position on the league table with 24 points from 13 games, 4 points off the table toppers- Jurgen Klopp led Liverpool, Ralph Hasenhuttl has again made a merry out of the “mess”

The Importance Of Edinson Cavani

by | Dec 10, 2020

Owing to fitness issues due to Quarantine and not playing much football in the last few months, Edinson Cavani had to wait before he could get his first start for Manchester United since his free transfer on deadline day. While most fans were frustrated by another underwhelming transfer window, Cavani was welcomed at the club with open arms and there was a lot of curiosity on how this transfer may pan out. United fans were put out of their misery when the Uruguayan finally made his first start in the 4-1 win against Istanbul Basaksehir at Old Trafford last week. Cavani didn’t score but he was the most influential player on the pitch, constantly on the move, pressing defenders and expertly linking up play. The signs were promising. 

The Red devils then travelled to the south coast to face Southampton, a tricky tie away from home. United went 2-0 down at half time thanks to some James Ward-Prowse magic which spurred Solskjaer to bring on Cavani at half-time to try and turn the tide. Funnily, Cavani was late to step onto the pitch as he apparently had the wrong boots on. But once he stepped on the pitch, it was clear he was wearing the right boots. He whipped in a cross for Bruno Fernandes to score the first goal past the impressive Alex McCarthy. A few minutes later, Cavani put himself on the scoresheet via a diving header from a deflected shot. And then in stoppage time, The 33 year old scored his second to complete the comeback and give Manchester United the 3 points. It may have taken a while, but ‘El Matador’ had finally arrived at Manchester United. 

Today, we dive deeper into the Uruguayan’s career and what makes him such a good striker. 

Career History

Born in northwestern Uruguay, Cavani first earned accolades after impressing for Uruguay in the 2007 South American Youth Championships. This prompted many top clubs to take a closer look at him. Eventually, it was Palermo who gave him his move to Europe in 2007. He scored 34 times for Palermo encouraging Walter Mazzarri to buy Cavani for Napoli at the start of 2009/10 season. 

Cavani’s Napoli career was a revelation. Along with fellow teammates Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi, Cavani helped the Partenopei propel from a mid table Serie A side to Champions League regulars. He scored 33 goals in each of his first two seasons, including the winning goal in the Coppa Italia final against Juventus which brought Napoli silverware glory for the first time in over 20 years. He managed to score 20+ goals for 3 consecutive seasons in Serie A, a feat managed only by Gabriel Batistuta and Antonio Di Natale in the past. 

In 2013, it became apparent that Cavani would be moving away from the club and reportedly, Manchester United CEO Ed Woodward was keen on signing the Uruguayan. Sir Alex Ferguson had just retired and David Moyes was at the helm. Moyes liked the idea of having Cavani at the club which led to discussions and talks with his agent. Cavani, only 26 at the time, would’ve been more than happy to move to England. However, David Moyes went to watch Cavani 3 times and was unimpressed with what he saw. Ed Woodward still wanted to sign Cavani but Moyes refused which led to Cavani joining his teammate Lavezzi in moving to the French capital. 

PSG, at the time, were just starting to splash the cash in order to build a team capable of winning the Champions League. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva were already at the club, and Cavani and Lavezzi were added to the list of elusive signings the Paris-based club would make over the coming years. Ibrahimovic being the main man meant Cavani would play from the left, but that didn’t stop El Matador from scoring goals. He continued his goalscoring form by crossing the 20 goal mark in each of his first 3 seasons before PSG went through a lot of changes in 2016. Ibrahimovic and Blanc left the club, Neymar was still at Barcelona and Unai Emery was hired as manager. The following season was the one in which Cavani was the main striker at the club. He scored 49 goals in 50 appearances across all competitions with 35 of them being in the league which won him the golden boot. An impressive return, the transition was something similar to how Karim Benzema came into his own when Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid. 

But, PSG were knocked out in the Champions League Round of 16 and finished second to Kylian Mbappe’s high-flying Monaco which led to PSG signing Mbappe and Neymar for a combined fee of 357 million pounds the following season. Tensions started to rise when Neymar and Cavani were seen fighting over who would take the penalty duties at the club leading to rumours of a rift between the Brazilian and the Uruguayan. But Cavani was not a diva so he didn’t complain at all, something that has been synonymous with him throughout his career- He always kept the team before himself. 

The 19/20 season was Cavani’s lowest in his career. He started only 7 Ligue 1 games and his year was marred with injuries. PSG decided not to renew his contract and signed the younger Mauro Icardi on a permanent deal after a successful loan spell at the club. In fact, Cavani did not travel with the rest of the PSG squad to Portugal to complete the remaining Champions League games as his contract at the club was almost over. Cavani didn’t want to risk one last move to a top European club due to injuries and it turned out to be the right decision. Cavani was set to join Benfica on a free transfer but the Portugese club could not put together a financial package to bring the Uruguayan to Liga NOS. In the end, Manchester United got their man and even though it’s early signs, it looks like a good deal. 

Tactical Analysis

The one thing that Cavani is recognised the most by is his terrific off-the-ball movement. His attacking movement and positional sense is what makes him such a great striker. Yes, he has a reputation of missing easy chances and sometimes he takes multiple attempts to score but he is able to create those many chances for himself due to his excellent movement. Cavani is always on the move, he wants to be on the end of every pass, every cross, and every long ball. 

It is also very evident in the two goals he scored vs Southampton 

Here, you can see how Cavani is the only one making a move from both the teams as Bruno Fernandes takes a shot from the edge of the box. Cavani’s movement is based on the off chance of getting an easy tap-in from a rebound or a deflection. 

And that is exactly what happens. Fernandes’ shot is deflected and it falls nicely for the Uruguayan to head it in. 

In the second goal, as soon as Rashford gets in a crossing position, Cavani makes a near post run catching Vestergaard by surprise. Rashford finds him with an inch-perfect cross which ends up being the winning goal to complete Manchester United’s comeback. 

Whoscored.com lists Headed attempts as one of Cavani’s strengths but says Aerial duels are one of his weaknesses. Yet, he scores most of his goals from headers. In the calendar year 2019, Cavani had an xG of 5.20 after crosses and also scored 4 headed goals. In fact, the two headed goals he scored against Southampton were the most any Manchester United player has scored since 2018/19.  His movement enables him to get away from the defenders and find free spaces in the penalty box. 

In this image, Kurzawa receives the ball wide left. Cavani makes a fake run towards the inside making the defender commit to marking that area leaving a lot of space behind. 

As soon as there is a possibility of a cross, Cavani attacks the free space left behind by the defender and as the defender has already committed to marking the central area, he is late in tracking Cavani’s run. 

Look at how far Cavani has pulled away from the defender. He gets a lot of free space and expertly heads in the cross. 

His movement is only one aspect of his on-field game though. Cavani has excellent hold-up and link-up play. He brings the wingers and the midfielders in the game through his link up and hold up play. He had a 72% pass completion rate in the penalty area in the Ligue 1 last season. His excellent passing and hold-up play coupled with his brilliant movement also helps him drag defenders away towards him enabling other players to attack that free space and score goals. 

At 33 years of age, El Matador may be past his best but his experience and mentorship will help the young Manchester United attack line a lot. His strengths are exactly the traits Rashford, Martial and Greenwood have lack. 

“He will bring energy, power and leadership. But most importantly, he will bring goals” was what Solskjaer said on Manchester United’s acquisition of Edinson Cavani and that is exactly what Cavani brings to this team. 

Tactical Analysis: RB Leipzig under Julian Nagelsmann

by | Dec 8, 2020

“Football is 30% tactics and 70% social competence”. The young manager is a hit in both aspects, may it be at FC Augsburg where he worked with current Paris Saint Germain boss Thomas Tuchel, may it be at TSG Hoffenheim where he learned from Ralf Ragnick and Huub Stevens. Despite being 32 years old, he has earned plaudits from even the most experienced managers in the game. Nicknamed ‘Baby Mourinho’, he is a fearless guy when it comes to taking risks. From opting to choose a highly defensive structure in his debut season at Hoffenheim to choosing a complete opposite structure in his following season, Julian Nagelsmann changes his tactical setup depending on the need of the team and the opposition he faces.


(Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Tactical Analysis

At RB Leipzig, he has again opted to prefer a high intensity counter pressing, counter-attacking footballing structure loosely based on the principle of ‘Totaalvoetbal’, with players performing multiple roles in the team, right from defense to attack. Players with good technical ability and versatility like Dani Olmo, Marcel Sabitzer, Christopher Nkunku, Tyler Adams, Emil Forsberg, Nordi Mukiele, Lukas Klostermann, Marcel Halstenberg make sure that this ‘unpredictable’ nature remains in their every match. Nagelsmann prefers to use the ‘space’, hence relying on width through his wingbacks and the ‘half space occupation’ through his wingers who like to cut in and take central role or the most advanced midfielder tasked with the role of playmaking.

Julian Nagelsmann opted to use a 3-4-1-2/4-2-4 formation in his debut season at RB Leipzig with a ‘floating striker’ in support role (Youssuf Poulsen) and other striker(Timo Werner) pressing the defensive line and making runs in the channels when possession gets turned over. With the sale of pacy striker Timo Werner to Premier League side Chelsea FC, Nagelsmann has switched to a 3-4-2-1 for time being with 2 wingers and a floating striker constantly changing their position in attack. He has also opted to use a 4-2-3-1 on some instances this season. Even with this change in formation, he has sticked to his fundamentals of exploiting ‘width’ and making ‘triangles’ and/or ‘diamonds’ in final third of the pitch, constantly pressing the opposition in a systematic manner and forcing turnovers to counter attack in a fluid manner.

Despite facing some injury issues and new signings still adapting to change of scenario, RB Leipzig sit at 3rd position in the Bundesliga table with 21 points won in 10 matches, courtesy of in-form Dani Olmo playing in multiple positions and performing at top level.

Even though Julian Nagelsmann has some fixed principles on which he sets up his team, his rotation policy is very unpredictable which always gives his side an ‘element of surprise’ and equally capable of a ‘giant killing‘ on their own merit. These group stage matches for last season’s UCL semi finalists have been a good test for both the team and their young, ambitious and hungry ‘managerial wonderkid’.

Team News

Just like in their previous encounter, Manchester United will again look to create overloads in the center of the pitch and deploy a systematic manner of counter-pressing to nullify the strengths of Saxony based side. Absence of Fred (suspension) will be a big blow to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans. Also the absence of Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial puts entire load of leading the attacking line on Marcus Rashford who himself has been struggling with a recurring Shoulder injury. On the other hand, RB Leipzig will be without Lazar Samardzic (tested positive for Covid-19), Konraid Laimer, Lukas Klostermann, Benjamin Henrichs (all missing due to knee injuries) and Dayot Upamecano (suspension).

With Champions League group stage reaching it’s end, many teams are still in fight to win their places in Round of 16. Both Manchester United and RB Leipzig will fight it out in a ‘winner takes all’ kind of contest when both teams will ‘lock their horns’ on Tuesday. Manchester United despite their brilliant start to current CL campaign (which included a 2-1 win at Parc Des Princes against PSG and 5-0 rout of RB Leipzig) lost their way with a shocking 2-1 loss to debutants Istanbul Basaksehir and a 1-3 loss to PSG due to lack of clinical finishing, still looking to get a minimum of 1 point to ensure their qualification to Round of 16.

Meanwhile, RB Leipzig must get 3 points to ensure their qualification for round of 16 of Champions League. With the match in Leipzig, team’s must win scenario and a previous 5-0 loss to Manchester United (whose away record in Germany has been abysmal) will provide the young German side with all the motivation in the world to step up on the pitch and see off the competition. Such instances of healthy competition are neccessary for every player, manager to test their mettle and become better version of themselves.

A lot is at stakes in this match up which will make it a treat to watch for supporters and neutrals alike. May the best team prevail!

The Importance of Victor Lindelof

by | Nov 26, 2020

The Importance of Victor Lindelof

A flashback to November 21, 2017. Manchester United were having a tough time breaking down lowly Huddersfield as they trailed 1-0 and were forced to make a defensive sub thanks to Phil Jones’ injury. Victor Lindelof came on and within just 10 minutes found himself forced into a sticky situation from goalkeeper Jonas Lossl’s long clearance. Lindelof missed the header, allowing Depoitre to sweep up the easy loose ball and make it 2-0. Paul Merson said on Soccer Saturday after the game: “The lad Lindelof came on, and wow. If you watch Christopher Schindler for Huddersfield, you’d take him all day long over Lindelof.” The error marked the latest in a string of defensive mistakes that led to manager Mourinho becoming reluctant to give Lindelof a Premier League start until 6 months after signing him in the summer of 2017. Fans were already calling for the sale of the Swede in a bid to recoup the £31m fee, which they clearly felt was a bad investment.

Fast forward to the present and Victor Lindelof is one of the first names on the team sheet for Manchester United. A forced half-time withdrawal against Istanbul this week in the Champions League thanks to a niggling back injury was lamented by fans as they prayed for his recovery and fitness in time for the weekend clash against Southampton. The perception of Lindelof has come a full 360 and after more than 2 years of consistent performances, the £31m fee is starting to look more like a bargain than wasted investment. Forget Christopher Schindler, most United fans would not swap Lindelof even for Toby Alderweireld now. The ‘iceman’, a nickname popularised by United fans, has been credited in bringing the Red Devils out of the Jones-Smalling era and form a more progressive partnership with Harry Maguire to great effect. We analyse the importance of Lindelof and why he is one of the most underrated cogs in the current United machine.

Journey so far:

It was in the second-half of 2015-16 that Lindelof began playing regularly for the Benfica senior team and ultimately earned a callup from the Sweden senior team to be a part of their squad for Euro 2016. His stock has steadily been on the rise ever since and earned him a transfer to United in the summer of 2017. 

 

After an initially rocky start in Manchester, with Eric Bailly being the preferred option, Lindelof has slowly become the mainstay in the Manchester United XI while Bailly has spent most of his time on the shelf with injuries. In the 2018/19 campaign, Lindelof asserted himself as United’s best centre-back option. He was the leader in the defence making 30 league appearances. He thrived as confidence was put in him to be the number one centre-back. But a few errors at the start of the 19/20 campaign brought back doubts on his ability. He was beaten in the air for Crystal Palace’s first goal when they wound up 2-1 winners at Old Trafford in August, and the same happened again when he was completely out-jumped by Jannik Vestergaard as Southampton held United to a 1-1 draw the following month. But, as his understanding with new partner Harry Maguire kept growing, the duo fell upon a formula which covered for both players’ weaknesses and enhanced their strengths. The remainder of the season saw Lindelof put together another impressive run which played a huge part in United climbing up in the league to finish at an impressive 3rd place. Lindelof started 35 out of a possible 38 Premier League games and only conceded 32 goals, which was an improvement over the 2018/19 season where he conceded 40 goals in 30 starts.

Harry Maguire summed it up perfectly in a MUTV interview before the end of the 19/20 season: ”We’ve had a good season up to now together. When you form partnerships, it takes time. I’m learning his game and he’s learning mine and I think we’re getting better. We’re keeping a lot more clean sheets than we were at the start of the season. We’ve had a couple of great goals scored against us from outside the box, but we haven’t really been having games where David [De Gea] has had to make saves apart from maybe the Carabao Cup second leg against City when David was brilliant. It’s a partnership that’s building and I think we’ll get better and better, and start keeping more clean sheets like we have been doing recently.”

United fans were ambushed with a quick reminder of his weakness towards the end of the season as Lindelof was to blame (along with Wan-Bissaka) for the goal against Sevilla that brought to fore a furious argument with Bruno Fernandes. But, in the larger scheme of things 19/20 marked the end of 2 consistently solid seasons for the Swede. 

His impressive stats and the way he has fought tooth and nail for his spot at Manchester United since 2017 haven’t gone unnoticed, earning him a new deal in September 2019. The 20/21 season hasn’t offered up much for analysis so far as Lindelof has had a stop-start season thanks to his back injury. After a frustrating start shipping goals against Palace and Brighton, the Iceman has found his usual groove with imperious displays against PSG, Chelsea, RBL and Arsenal. 

 

Tactical Analysis:

Lindelof is clearly a ball-playing defender but his pace, composure and game-reading make him very suitable to play as a cover defender. Most modern centre-back pairings operate in a stopper-cover partnership. The stopper is the one who aggressively engages in duels with attackers and often steps into the DM area to win the ball early before the clear-cut chance can be created by the opponents while the cover CB drops deeper to sweep up the loose balls and contest the duels that the stopper misses. The relevance for this style of partnership has only increased in modern times as many attackers are adept at dropping in the hole to create (like Firmino, Messi, Kane) as they draw out defenders and create space for their more attacking partners (like Salah, Suarez, Son) to attack the space. With the stopper-cover setup, the stopper engages the former type while the cover player tracks the latter type to give the team a double opportunity to weed out threats. For reference, Ferdinand Cover and Vidic Stopper or Ramos stopper and Varane cover would be good examples.

For Manchester United, Maguire is the clear stopper and enjoys stepping into midfield to contest with opponents. His strong frame and heading ability make him a great asset to win the ball early and stop opponent moves while his lack of pace and agility are also made up for when he engages early without giving the attacker a chance to collect the ball and run at him. In contrast, Lindelof avoids the early aerial scruff and drops patiently to pick up the quick poacher or loose ball from Maguire’s duel. This often puts him in the right place to sweep up balls with control and calm or contest a forward’s dribble or pacey run which he is well suited to win most of the time. On the rare occasions Maguire is dribbled past or Lindelof is forced into an aerial battle which he loses, United concede a chance. But given the combinations and the fact that both players are adept defenders, this leads to very few chances on goal. As a duo, Maguire and Lindelof’s combined individual errors leading to goals was 0 in 19/20 which was the best in the Premier League. They also let in the least through balls from open play into the D box in the league. While either may not have been as good as Virgil Van Dijk individually, together they have been as good as any CB pairing in Europe in 19/20.

A good example of their combination is the game against Everton where Maguire went ahead to engage the midfielder while Lindelof smartly tracked the run of the incoming winger. Maguire lost the duel getting stranded ahead and the ball was played perfectly in the danger area but Lindelof’s reading and pace enabled him to cut across and clear the ball before it entered the D box.

Lindelof is a strong ball-player constantly looking for line-breaking passes that find midfielders and attackers in good positions. While finding the holding midfielder with a quick short pass or spreading the play with a through ball on the wings to the fullback is like bread and butter for him, he also possesses the vision and technique to pick out the front 3 with a perfect midfield-splitting grounded ball.

A good example is against Wolves last season where Lindelof stepped in to stop the danger, trapped the ball perfectly before giving himself time to pick out a free player in a dangerous situation where he was being pressed before finally finding Jesse Lingard, who dropped deep to help, with a precise pass through the crowd.

Lindelof always keeps looking for more direct routes to goal as evidenced by this move against WBA where instead of opting for the conservative pass to the right-back, he dribbles forward and finds striker Martial with a quick grounded pass. 

 

 

 

 Another example of his directness and technique against Burnley as he goes wide on the right before belting a strong grounded pass through the midfield to find striker Martial once again:

 

 

His technique and vision aren’t limited to his right foot alone as in this example he receives the ball in a high-pressed crowded area near his D before turning and releasing the attacker on the halfway line with a left-footed through ball, turning a dangerous situation for United into an opportunity to counter.

 

 

 

Strengths:

In 2018/19, Lindelof finished the Premier League campaign with no errors leading to goals, a 68% tackle success rate and just one yellow card. In 19/20, he was even more impressive with a 98% tackle success rate which was the highest in the league. He again finished the league season with 0 errors leading to goals. What Victor lacks in strength and aerial ability, he makes up for with a proficient reading of the game. The Swede is intelligent, and knows when to make that slide challenge and when not to. In the 19/20 season, he made 170 recoveries and won 103 duels in the Premier League, which is testament to his reading of the game. His dribbled past stat per game was 0.3 in 18/19 and 0.1 in 19/20, both being second in league after Van Dijk, who had been having Ballon D’or level seasons. Lindelof’s dispossessed stat (Times player was dispossessed of the ball by an opponent) is consistently just 0.1 across the last 3 seasons which is a league leader stat, showing his strength on the ball. It is also telling how accurate and reliable Lindelof is during the tackle. He picked up only 1 yellow card in his senior Benfica career while his total yellow cards for Manchester United are only 9. The Swede is yet to be shown the red card in his playing career. 

 

Lindelof is a performer for the big stage. His performances against sides like Juventus, RBL and Paris Saint Germain were really commendable as he marshalled the likes of Mbappe with ease. The Swede can be called the quintessential big-game defender as he defends calmly against technically-gifted world-class forwards retaining confidence and composure in his pace and game-reading. Lindelof’s fitness and consistency is a largely underrated factor. Given the injury issues of Jones and Bailly, United badly needed someone resilient, robust and stable and Lindelof is all of that. He started 79 out of a possible 93 games in all competitions over the 18/19 and 19/20 seasons, mostly being rested because of chances to Tuanzebe and Bailly in Europa or Cup games. After being overplayed by club and country without any pre-season or rest this year, the Swede has picked up a back injury after 2.5 years of first-class fitness. But such is his tenacity and natural fitness that he’s managed to appear for Sweden and United even with the back niggle. He has become one of the players fans can always count on to be fit and ready most of the time.  

Weakness:

It’s an obvious issue that needs addressing; as much as Lindelof likes to command play from the floor, a core weakness is his aerial abilities which has proved costly a few times now. The fact that Maguire is aerially sound doesn’t help his cause, either. Errors in the air as a centre-back aren’t taken well, which has often led to harsh finger-pointing by fans in Lindelof’s case. Ironically, Lindelof looks more confident keeping up with top-class attackers like Aubameyang or Neymar than contesting a looping header against Olivier Giroud or Troy Deeney. But, there is a clear growth trend even in this department as his aerial mistakes have only reduced since his arrival at the club. Lindelof’s aerial duels won per game in the league were 1.3 in 17/18, 2.3 in 18/19 & 2.7 in 19/20. Having just turned 25, it is clear he has been working hard with the aim of cutting down those errors completely from his game and wants to become the complete finished product for the next few years.

 

For a defender who just turned 26 years old, Lindelof’s best years are only ahead of him. Showing considerable growth and consistency in the 3.5 years he has been at United, the Swede is starting to look more and more like the capable centre-back United fans have been craving for since the Ferdinand-Vidic days. A good comparison to his growth can be made with Gerard Pique. Like Lindelof, Pique started off as an agile, lanky ball-player who was very quick, composed and reliable on the ball but made the occasional mistake in aerial battles often leaving them to his stopper partner Puyol during his early days. But as Pique entered his peak and earned more responsibility, he developed to weed out those issues from his game and has now become a key figure for Barcelona over the past decade. Lindelof can take a few notes from this growth pattern since he seems to be walking on the same path. There is no stopping Lindelof being a world-class elite footballer if he continues his improvement and grows as a defender. The iceman has the potential to reach the snow-capped heights every defender dreams of.

 

The Importance of Bruno Fernandes

by | Nov 16, 2020

It was around 30 mins into the Manchester derby at Old Trafford when the ball went out for a Manchester City throw in and the man wearing no.18 on his back had an exchange of words with the City manager, Pep Guardiola. A bit of back and forth ended with Bruno Fernandes practically shushing the Catalonian. A short 5 second altercation showed exactly what Manchester United were missing prior to the Portuguese’s arrival in the January transfer window. 

Manchester United’s 19/20 season up until the end of the January transfer window had been a huge roller coaster ride. This was a team which could go toe-to-toe with Europe’s finest on their day but fail to win a match they should be comfortably winning on some other day. The young squad assembled by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had potential which was clear to see, but after a few good performances and results, their inconsistent form again dipped and a 2-0 loss to Burnley showcased just how poor United looked on their bad days. The performance was lacklustre and uninspiring much like the season till that point, and if United were down, there was usually no coming back from it. 

“When the going gets tough, the tough gets going” – United lacked someone ‘tough’. A strong personality, a vocal leader, someone who can make a difference when the chips are down and in that process rally everyone around him too. The 2-0 loss to Burnley was followed by United acting swiftly in the transfer window and securing the signature of Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon for a reported 47m pounds fee (excluding add-ons). Fernandes made his Manchester United debut the following weekend against Wolves at Old Trafford and his impact was easily seen. 

The match ended 0-0 but Fernandes was the best player on the pitch. Constantly demanding the ball, finding pockets of spaces to drift into, Bruno was taking charge. In fact, he was even constantly instructing and talking to teammates and telling them what to do, something about his personality that is known by everyone close to him. This was the type of impact he had after training only for a single day. The goalless draw was followed by 2 consecutive league wins against Chelsea and Watford with Fernandes having a say in both those games. Early signs suggested that the red devils had made a wise investment. Two comfortable wins in the FA Cup and Europa League and a tough draw at Goodison Park followed and then it was time for the Manchester derby.

Fernandes had set up Anthony Martial from a quick freekick earlier in the game and then came the altercation with Guardiola. It was at that moment some started to think United had finally found their talisman, their leader, their ‘strong personality’ in the dressing room. The match ended with United winning 2-0 and they looked comfortable in doing so. The 26 year old’s impact had made the team play better and everything around Old Trafford looked like it was falling into place.

The Derby was the last game played at Old Trafford before the pandemic put a stop on all the footballing activities. After the resumption of football, Manchester United were arguably the best team in the league for the remainder of the season.

Manchester United went unbeaten for the remainder of the campaign upon resumption. In fact, the red devils didn’t lose a single game in the league since Fernandes made his debut against Wolves on the deadline day of the winter transfer window. The first match they lost which involved the Portugese was the 3-1 defeat to Crystal Place on the opening day of the 2020/21 season. His immediate impact was for everyone to see. The 26 year old contributed to 8 goals and 7 assists in the Premier League last season, no other midfielder in the league contributed to more since his debut last season. 

Bruno Fernandes has now scored 18 goals and provided 13 assists for Manchester United in 33 appearances across all competitions, that’s 31 goal involvements in 33 appearances – an outstanding record. In the Premier League, he has scored 13 goals, only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has scored more since Fernandes made his debut. He became notorious for ‘only scoring penalties’ towards the end of last season but he has scored more non-penalty goals than any other midfielder in the league since he made his debut. 

If we look past the goals and assists, he also became the first Manchester United player to win back to back Premier League Player of the month awards since Cristiano Ronaldo and was also named as Manchester United’s player of the year despite having been here only for half the campaign. Fernandes also has won 5 man of the match awards for Manchester United so far. He also has a 4.4 sca/p90 which ranks him 10th in the league. SCA means shot creating actions such as a pass, dribble or even a tackle.

Courtesy of Statsbomb and football Slices, Fernandes’ percentile rank compared to the midfielders in Europe’s top 5 leagues is exceptional. 

Some of the stats like the pass completion rate or his non-penalty xG per shot may look a bit low but that showcases his playing style. The Portuguese isn’t afraid to take risks. If there is even a slight chance of setting someone through on goal or even if he gets half a yard of space from a shooting area, he will go for it. 

In football, the great players have this exceptional ability to make everyone think that something is going to happen when they have the ball. Fernandes is one of them. He constantly demands the ball is played to him and wants everything to go through him. Players around Fernandes are prepared to go the extra mile too, making constant runs and finding spaces in dangerous areas for the 26 year old to pick them out with a pass, because they know he has the ability to do exactly that. 

Tactical Analysis

Francesco Guidolin managed Bruno Fernandes when he was at Udinese and the Italian manager claims that Fernandes is one of the most intelligent players he has ever managed. He isn’t the only one to heap praise on the Portugese midfielder, the sporting director who took Fernandes from Boavista’s academy to Novora says “he is the most intelligent person I have ever met”. From using post-it notes to learn new languages and watching the replays of his games right after it is over, Fernandes uses every shred of his brain and his natural talent to become the player he is. 

It is easy to see how intelligent he is. For example, the goal he scored against Newcastle shows how well he reads the game. 

Here, he starts United’s counter attack intelligently linking up with van de Beek with a backheel and sets of running. Van de Beek passes to Mata, who releases Rashford and the counter attack is in motion. 

Rashford receives the ball wide left and continues running into the vacant space which prompts Fernandes to go inside in case the Englishman decides to run it wide and put in a cross. 

Instead, Marcus Rashford decides to cut in and take on Jamaal Lascelles which makes Fernandes make a move towards the outside. In the image, the moment Rashford goes inside, Fernandes starts going towards the outside. 

The Portuguese continues his run and Rashford expertly finds him after drawing 3 defenders towards him. Fernandes then takes a touch and then finishes it into the top corner beating Karl Darlow. 

He reads and understands the game very well and even if his stats seem unbelievable, he can impact games and goals without being directly involved in the goals as well. 

In the 3rd goal that Anthony Martial scored against Sheffield United last season, Fernandes didn’t have an assist but was still involved heavily. 

He receives the ball from deep through Paul Pogba and instantly gives it to Martial behind with an expertly executed backheel, catching the Sheffield United defenders off guard. 

He then makes a move towards the box while Martial finds Rashford out wide in the left side half space. 

He sees Martial making a run inside the box and instantly drops back to provide another passing option to Rashford. 

This catches defender John Egan off guard, who is left ball watching and fails to cover Martial who expertly chips the keeper to complete his hattrick. 

One largely underrated aspect of Fernandes’ style of play is his heading ability and his ability to get into positions of scoring a free header. Now his heading ability isn’t as polished as that of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo or Robert Lewandowski but his movement and his ability to understand the game allows him to find spaces in order to find a free header inside the box. 

He scored a headed goal against Everton by sliding in between the two centre backs and connecting from a Luke Shaw cross. 

Here, he is inside the box waiting for Shaw to deliver a cross, as soon as Shaw puts his foot to the ball, Fernandes flicks on the switch and makes a run in between the CBs

He meets the cross, fairly unmarked and then slots it home beating Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal. 

What makes Bruno Fernandes so special is his hunger and drive to always improve and be better. “He wants to be the best”, says Giraetta, speaking to Jack Lang for The Athletic. He watches his games in their entirety as soon as he reaches home, even if it’s 2:30 in the morning. He watches them irrespective of the result, when they have won, drawn or when they have lost. Especially, when they have lost. He has a constant drive to become better than he already is. 

For people close to him, they have said he has always been like this. It doesn’t matter if Bruno is playing street football with his elder brother and his mates or if he’s playing with Cristiano Ronaldo for the national team, if there is something he doesn’t agree with, he will say it. He is expressive, an extrovert, and very blunt about his feelings. When Luuk de Jong scored the winner to take Sevilla to the Europa League finals and knock Manchester United out of the competition in the process, a footage was floated around the social media sites of him arguing with Victor Lindelof. Another footage came across when he was seen kicking the door, much to the dislike of the security guard present, after he was sent off in a match he played for Sporting Lisbon. “I’ll pay for the door, you can go f*** yourself” were the words coming out of the 26 year old’s mouth. A true indictment of his personality, he just cannot keep it inside. 

The altercation with Pep Guardiola is no different and that moment totally summed up what Bruno Fernandes is all about and what Manchester United had been missing prior to his arrival. A strong personality who will constantly expect better from himself and from those around him and won’t be afraid to speak up whenever required. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Bruno Fernandes brings the ‘X-Factor’ to the team and it’s easy to see how. 

If there ever was a “Manchester United player” then Bruno Fernandes is the best player to express. His high risk, high reward style of play, his relentless work rate, his constant drive to win the ball back and demanding the ball is played to him, he is everything that Manchester United players of the old were – a fighter. Fernandes is a fighter on and off the pitch and he won’t settle for anything but the best.

Fernandes isn’t fazed by the pressure that comes with the price tag or the expectations of the fans. He does his job and whenever his team needs someone to step up, he is the one to do it. Maybe he relishes the responsibility, maybe he thrives when the odds are stacked against him. 

Manchester United may have finally found their talisman in their journey back to the top. After all, the fans haven’t named him the ‘The Portugese Magnifico’ for no reason.  

Mason Greenwood : United’s Diamond In The Rough

by | Oct 4, 2020

 In Football, whenever an exciting young talent bursts onto the scene and starts performing well beyond something that is expected of their age, a lot of headlines are made. Everyone’s talking about that player and how he has bags of potential and how his game will improve over the years and how his peak years are yet to come, etc. Wayne Rooney, when he first ‘burst onto the scene’ is probably the best example of this. In more recent years, Kylian Mbappe, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Ousmane Dembele have all made their mark on the big stage. This season was no different with us being introduced to diamonds like Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Eduardo Camavinga and of course, Mason Greenwood. 

In this piece, we’ll talk about Mason Greenwood’s abilities and what makes him so special. 

(Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

What does it mean to be a wonderkid?

But firstly, when someone says this player is a wonderkid or has “bags of potential”, what do they mean by that? Well, to understand, we can talk about the example of one of the greatest players to have ever played – Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo first “burst onto the scene” playing for Sporting Lisbon in a friendly against Manchester United and he left everyone on the away bench in awe. “Boss, he’s some player, that guy” were the words Ferguson kept hearing from the bench as Ronaldo showcased his skills and continued giving John O’Shea a torrid time at right back. Sir Alex Ferguson decided in the half time that they’re not leaving Lisbon until they’ve signed Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest, as they say, is history.

Although, the then coach Rene Muelensteen tells an interesting story of how Cristiano Ronaldo went from a tricky teenager to an absolute goal machine. 

“With Mick [Phelan] and Carlos we set about the process of making him aware about his position and making him understand what to do in different positions. We did a lot of work on finishing from different angles. I had a format where I divided the penalty area into zones and you think about what to do in each of the different zones – lace kick, chip, inside foot, one touch or two, do you move into a different zone and so on. Then you break down the key elements of what makes a good finish. So now he’s aware of position, the type of ball coming in, how he’s going to receive it and the type of finish”

Ronaldo had given himself a target of 23 goals that season, Mulensteen upped it to 40. He ended up scoring 42. Ronaldo went from a flashy, tricky youngster to a matured, prolific goalscorer by training and changing different aspects of his game. 

Sir Alex Ferguson wrote in his autobiography that Ronaldo was a bit too flashy for his liking when he came in. He always wanted to go for the spectacular like a mesmerizing piece of skill to beat his defender or a 25 yard top corner goal. Ferguson and Muelensteen worked hard to get the prolific side out of Ronaldo and improve his game for the better. 

This is what people usually mean when they say “bags of potential”. A player can be technically gifted in some aspects at 18 years old where most players cannot reach the same level in their whole careers. What matters is that with good coaching and hardwork, the player is able to use those abilities to his best ability and consistently over the course of his whole career. 

What makes Greenwood a wonderkid? 

Now, let’s have a look at the season that Mason Greenwood has had. 

(Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

While the Englishman played a few matches towards the end of the 18/19 season, the 19/20 season should be labelled as his ‘breakthrough season’. Greenwood scored 17 goals across all competitions last season, 10 of them being in the Premier League. The 18 year old’s 17 goals last season are the most any teenager has ever scored for Manchester United in a single season, tied with George Best (1965/66), Brian Kidd (1967/68) and Wayne Rooney (2004/05). Not a bad company to be in. 

Those who have followed Greenwood ever since his u18s days would hardly be surprised at the numbers he has produced at senior football level. The Englishman scored 31 goals in 30 games at the u18s level and added a further 9 assists to his tally, playing at that level when only 15 years old. His consistently good performances and staggering numbers meant it was only a matter of when and not if he was going to shine at the senior level. 

Style of play wise, you cannot find many weaknesses in Greenwood’s game. His dribbling is good, his passing is top notch, he is blessed with lots of pace and also good strength but his ultimate strength is his finishing. Greenwood has outperformed his xG number by 6.3, only Arsenal ace Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has bettered him in that aspect. Mason Greenwood has an xG of 3.7 which means that looking at the shots he has taken and the position in which he is taking those shots offer a low probability of those shots actually nestling into the back of the goal. Yet, the Englishman has managed to find the back of the net. 

In this image, you could see Greenwood being surrounded by Brighton players and the keeper Matt Ryan also having good positioning to stop any shot that may come in from that side of the pitch. Depending on Greenwood’s position and the position of the defenders surrounding him, this particular situation would warrant a very less xG. Yet, Greenwood takes a shot, nutmegging the defender and scoring into the bottom right corner.

Again, in this situation, statistically, the xG would come quite low as he is surrounded by Everton defenders and is outside the box. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has also got his positioning spot on. Greenwood, expertly finds a gap between the defenders and beats Jordan Pickford to slot it home into the bottom right corner, which is kind of becoming a trademark finish for the young sensation. 

His two-footedness also gives him an unique advantage in 1v1 situations against the defenders. He has completed 68% of his dribbles in the Premier League indicates that he is good with the ball at his feet and he is good at taking on defenders. He can either go onto his left foot or his right which makes it very hard for a defender to predict where he is going to go in a 1v1 situation. 

Greenwood, one could say, comes under the ‘technically gifted’ category. His passing is good, his dribbling is good, he can beat a defender and most importantly, he can finish brilliantly well. So, where does he go from here? How would he improve and really take his game to the next level?

What does the future hold for Greenwood?  

Overshooting his xG is only one side of the coin which shows he has exceptional finishing. The other being, he isn’t getting enough chances in order to score more goals which points to a little weakness he still has in his game – his movement. 

Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe are some of the best goal scorers in Europe currently but along with their goal scoring, these guys also have something in common – the amount of goals they miss. Salah amassed a record breaking 32 goals in the 2017/18 Premier League season but was also leading the charts for the most clear cut chances missed. Mbappe won the golden boot in the Ligue 1 last season and Lewandowski was arguably the best striker in Europe last season, but they both missed the most clear cut chances in Europe last season. 

These stats show that all the top strikers in the world get a lot of chances to score which can indicate the world class off the ball movement that they have. Due to having such good movement, Lewandowski, Mbappe and Salah are able to get into better positions and create a lot of chances for themselves by popping up in these goal scoring situations. Greenwood’s high exceeding of xG proves that he lacks in this regard. 

Arsene Wenger, widely regarded as the professor of football, once said that developing a young player is like building a house. You start with the technical abilities when the player is 14 years old. Then comes the physical aspect of a player till he’s around 17 years old. Then comes the tactical aspect when he’s around 18 or 19 years old. Greenwood is now 19 years old and there is still a lot of time for him to improve this aspect of his game. 

For large parts, Greenwood’s transition into the first team has been absolutely exceptional and it’s a testament to how well Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has managed it. Greenwood didn’t play much in the league during the first part of the season even though Manchester United were struggling with a lot of injuries. Most of his appearances came either from the bench in the Premier League or in the cup competitions. As the season went on, Greenwood started to get more and more minutes in the Premier League and since the restart last season, he’s been the first choice Right sided forward. 

(Photo by PETER POWELL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

This allowed Solskjaer to keep the Englishman away from the pressure to succeed and let him freely express himself whenever he’s on the field. As soon as Greenwood looked confident on the ball in the Premier League or playing with the first team, he’s been the manager’s go to choice for the Right Winger spot. The youngster repaid his manager’s faith by putting in stellar performances in the league since the restart last season which also earned him his first England call up. 

There is a general consensus building around that if Mason Greenwood gets one chance to score a goal, he’ll bury it. But the downside is that he probably gets only one clear cut chance per match. But, now is the time when we can potentially see his game go to the next level as he slowly, but surely learns the tactical aspects of the game.  Having said that, 17 goals in his debut full season is extremely good. All in all it’s safe to say that Mason Greenwood is just getting started. 

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