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Back in the day, Manchester United often lined up with a flat 4-4-2 formation in the field in the latter part of the last decade. However, as football progressed further, tactics changed, and teams tweaked their formations to accommodate and adjust themselves to the demands and the transitions in the Premier League.
Now, as the team finds itself in a bit of a testing scenario, here is why Jose Mourinho should flip the pages to bring some more consistency to this Manchester United squad:
Alexis Sanchez and the dilemma surrounding the left wing
Alexis Sanchez’s arrival has brought in a whole set of new questions for the manager. Though the Chilean is a supremely talented player and can be the X-factor behind Manchester United’s pursuit of the Premier League title in coming years, currently, there are a few questions that are unanswered in the squad.
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For starters, Alexis Sanchez needs to play in the left wing for one to bring out the best out of him.
However, as Sanchez plays on the left wing, Anthony Martial’s playing time has been reduced and rightly so. Currently, Sanchez is a much more developed player and is much more important to United’s prospects in the near future. This leads us to the question; can Martial play in a favoured position with Alexis on the field?
The answer is certainly yes.
4-4-2 (flat) can be the way ahead:
Anthony Martial is the best finisher amongst the current set of forwards in Manchester United’s squad. The Frenchman possesses a calm head in front of the goal and often comes out as the winner in one-on-one situations against the goalkeeper.
His ability to strike the goal from in and around the box has helped United in games in which they have struggled to churn out many chances.
For example, in the game against Burnley last month, United had just two shots on target, but Martial converted one of them into a goal and hence the Red Devils emerged victorious in the contest. Likewise, on many occasions, it has been proven that Martial can be one of the safest bets in terms of converting chances into goals.
However, it can be possible only when he plays on the left wing, or as the striker upfront. He is essentially a right-footed player and favours playing on the left side of the pitch, which gives him a better angle in front of the goal. Playing upfront too, he has been clinical by scoring once and assisting once in two matches as the centre-forward this season.
On the right wing though, he finds chances hard to come by and fades out of the games due to his inactivity on that wing. Having played three matches as the right winger this season, the Frenchman has failed to register even a single goal or assist so far.
He looks uncomfortable, loses his calmness on the ball and gets dispossessed far too easily on the right flank.
In the match against Newcastle United last week, Martial failed to finish off an easy chance created by a pinpoint through ball from Nemanja Matic in the first half. One should wonder, would he have scored that goal if the same chance was created in the left half of the pitch.
The answer is certainly yes.
The resulting four-man midfield looks formidable
a) The wide men
When a team plays with four men in a flat midfield formation, it is necessary for the wingers to track back when the fullbacks speed up on the pitch. In the formation that is suggested here, Sanchez and Juan Mata will play on either wing. Both these players are extremely hard working and are always ready to run that extra yard to help their defenders.
Especially Sanchez has the tendency to drop deep, to collect the ball and then to take the ball up by cutting in from the flank. Jose Mourinho always demands defensive duties from his wide men and Sanchez does that more than Martial.
That does not take away any offensive flair from his game, something that we often see in wingers who dutifully complete their defensive work.
Sanchez is an extremely productive player on both ends of the pitch and Jose Mourinho can place the bets on him to change the course of the game in a matter of minutes.
On the other hand, Mata might not be the most stylish or traditional winger, but his exploits from the right wing have been impressive of late. The Spaniard creates chances with his widespread passing range and can make accurate through balls by playing from an inward right wing position.
b) The central midfielders
At the centre, Jose can field a two-man midfield pivot in Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba. While Matic would play between the lines and thwart any possible attacks from the opposition, Pogba would dominate the game by going ahead.
Pogba’s passing is exemplary and this formation will allow him to play in a higher position on the pitch too. With extra defensive cover, he would be relieved of his defensive duties and can be a threatening figure going higher up the pitch.
Meanwhile, Matic can regularly make offensive moves, and his presence along with Mata by his side gives the side a greater assurance in defence.
The Serbian can control the tempo of the game with his assured passing and composure on the ball. This two-man midfield pivot is quite similar to the Michael Carrick-Paul Scholes duo, that United played in the second half of the last decade.
Pogba's passing and vision are often compared to that of Paul Scholes'. The emergence of Scott McTomminay has also added more options in the middle of the park and this can allow Jose to give some much-needed rest to Matic too.
Ander Herrera can be a crucial backup figure in the midfield as the Spaniard's bite, determination and ability to drive the team ahead are qualities that Jose loves to have in his midfielders.
What does this formation bring to the team?
Martial will take off some goal-scoring burden from Romelu Lukaku. The two strikers upfront along with an equally attack-minded Alexis Sanchez gives the team better offensive threat. This also provides a better defensive stability to the team and overall improves the balance of the squad.
Ernesto Valverde shifted Barcelona to a 4-4-2 (flat) formation ahead of this season and has seen immense success already. Maybe, it is time for Jose Mourinho to do the same. This will reduce the playing time of Jesse Lingard, but it should be noted that it would be for the greater good of the team.
Marcus Rashford can serve as a good backup to Sanchez, while also providing some good competition to Lukaku and Martial for the striker's spot. Lingard has shown that he can play as a midfielder too, as his off the ball movement and tendency to create space for other forwards will help the team overall.
It would be a conservative approach, but the same was said about Valverde ahead of the season. The truth is, the 4-4-2 (flat) formation is something that helps the team with more defensive cover, while it also increases the offensive activity of the team.
It is necessary to roll back the years and take a leaf out of Sir Alex Ferguson's book to bring out the best from this United squad.
Here's how the side would line up in said formation:
