Tactics Talk - Real Madrid vs Manchester United

With all due respects to the disappointed wives and girlfriends this Valentine’s day, Real Madrid vs Manchester United is arguably going to be the highlight of the year thus far. The fixture sees Cristiano Ronaldo face his former team, the delightful mind games between two of the finest managers of all time along with numerous mouth watering duels in the offing (Pepe vs Wayne Rooney for one, which is sure to be a feisty affair). So from a tactical perspective, how will the game turn out with the projected line ups? In addition to that, what tactical tweaks can either manager make to ramshackle particular threats? The answer may lie in my efforts to elaborate below.

Overview - Stripped down to basics, both teams have a wealth of attacking talent at their disposals. While Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie have been in ominous form of late, Cristiano Ronaldo has also been scoring for fun (although the own goal vs Granada wouldn’t have been as much fun). Both sides employ more or less the same formation, a 4-2-3-1 with quality wide men laying siege to the opposition goal, (United though also use a 4-4-2 with Rooney and Robin Van Persie up front). Both teams rely on quick, incisive break aways to score, and have two of the best passers in the middle of the park.

Manchester United Tactics

Tactical Strengths

United’s strike force is mercurial to say the least, Robin Van Persie with 19 goals and 7 assists in 26 league games, and 3 goals in 4 games in Europe is their man on song. Rooney isn’t far behind, with 10 goals and 7 assists in 18 league appearances, Javier Hernandez has been used as an effective impact sub and his movement off the ball will cause problems to the Madrid defense, should he play. But that’s not all. Michael Carrick’s record in Europe this season has been phenomenal, a successful pass percentage of 94.9% across 3 European games is astonishing to say the least and puts him among the best alongside Xavi, whose passes find their targets 96.4% of the time. Also, Nemanja Vidic’s return to defense has plugged the flow of goals conceded by the Reds, and will add much needed steel.

Another significant factor that will help is Wayne Rooney. Rooney’s willingness to drop deep to play passes will pull the centre backs further out creating space behind for Van Persie to run into.

United also has the formbook on their side, having won 5 and drawn 1 of their last 6 fixtures.

Tactical Weaknesses

Questions will be raised on United’s wide men and their effectiveness to step up. Antonio Valencia has hardly touched the level of performances he has put in into the previous seasons, Ryan Giggs has started almost as many games as he has appeared as a substitute in, and at 39 it won’t be easy for him to deal with a fast Madrid side. Giggs’ tackling hasn’t been convincing either, and that might prove decisive against Madrid’s bevy of fast and creative wide men. That leaves United with an option to play Tom Cleverley out wide where he has been excellent, or to deploy Ashley Young who has just returned from injury and will have concerns on his match fitness.

Another major concern will be United’s poor record at successful tackles. Ryan Giggs, Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones and Antonio Valencia all have an average of one successful tackle per game. Xabi Alonso in Madrid’s midfield alone has an average of 4. This might lead to Madrid trumping United’s midfield at winning back possession, giving Alonso and Khedira time to control the tempo of the game. David de Gea in goal will also keep United sweating, as the Spaniard, albeit a brilliant shot stopper, has a poor command over his area.

With the likes of Ramos, Ronaldo, Pepe and Khedira, he may find his evening just that little bit more cumbersome.

Finally, delving deeper into Van Persie’s goal analysis, Mourinho will have identified that the Dutchman has scored 89% of his goals from inside the box. Tracking his trademark runs into the box will ensure that he has a quiet night.

Predicted line up and formation: de Gea, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Rafael, Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Giggs, Rooney, Van Persie. (4-4-2)

Tactical tweaks

Running the rule over United’s game at Everton, Ferdinand being rested signals that he is going to start against Madrid. Johnny Evans starting instead could be a possibility, and I daresay the better possibility. Also, Phil Jones did an excellent job marking Marouane Fellaini, pretty much neutralizing his usually dominant influence from Everton’s midfield. A similar marking job on Xabi Alonso would shake up Madrid’s engine room and cut off supply to their enigmatic 3 behind the forward but that should be subject to Phil Jones being available, as he was forced off against Everton in the second half (So was Johnny Evans.)

A last tactical change I would make would be to use Antonio Valencia as a defensive winger rather than a conventional wide man. This would help United deal with the threat of Ronaldo and would ease Rafael’s significant workload. The tactic worked like a charm against Chelsea, where Valencia checked Ashley Cole’s run all night and kept him from bombing high up the pitch.

Tactically effective formation- de Gea, Evra, Evans, Vidic, Rafael, Carrick, Jones, Cleverley, Valencia, Rooney, Van Persie. (4-4-2)

Real Madrid TacticsTactical strengths

Real have one of the best players in the world on their side, so that’s obviously the first major plus. The former United man has 24 goals and 4 assists in 22 appearances for Real, and his diabolical pace, sheer athleticism and unpredictable skill set and bamboozling running will be nightmarish for the United defense. Real also possess an aerial advantage over United, which as I mentioned will cause problems to David de Gea. Also, considering that Pepe plays, United will only have Vidic and Ferdinand/Evans (Jones is a doubt) with enough aerial ability to counter the threats posed by Ramos, Pepe, Khedira and Ronaldo. That indicates that set pieces, including Ronaldo’s rockets, will cause problems to the United defense.

That being said, Real’s central midfield partnership of Khedira and Alonso will be strong and difficult to break down. Alonso’s statistic of almost 10 accurate long balls a game speaks volumes about his effective long passing and distribution, which in turn aids Madrid’s lightning quick transition from defense to attack. They also have two very different forwards who can play the lone striker’s role, a deep lying forward in the form of Gonzalo Higuain (8 goals and 3 assists in 16 La Liga games and no goals or assists in 3 European games) or a poacher in the form of Karim Benzema (6 goals and 6 assists in 19 La Liga games and 3 goals and 2 assists in 5 European appearances.)

Tactical Weaknesses

Like in any 4-2-3-1, Madrid rely heavily on the two men in the centre to allow the forward players to fire on all cylinders. Any hiccups in the middle will prompt Madrid to change tactics, which might go against them. Luka Modric hasn’t really suggested that he can take the mantle from Alonso, and is yet to come good consistently. Chelsea fans will remember Michael Essien jail marking Steven Gerrard out of the game in Chelsea’s 3-1 win at Anfield. A similar heist on Alonso will significantly dent Madrid’s chances. That fact, coupled with Khedira’s less than impressive showings in Europe, will be something Sir Alex needs to take a long hard look at.

United must also look to take advantage of the fact that Pepe may not be fully fit (he has played only 25 minutes against Sevilla after returning from injury.) Also, if Spanish newspaper Marca is to be believed, Fabio Coentrao will almost definitely start, which United will look to target as the Portuguese wing back has often been caught napping on the wings.

One of Madrid’s major weaknesses in Europe can also be seen on analyzing Madrid’s shots per game stats across their forward players. Only Ronaldo averages an impressive 6 shots per game in Europe, the centre forwards- Benzema (3) and Higuain (0.7) and the attacking midfielders- Di Maria (3) and Ozil (1) have only decent numbers.

Predicted line ups and formation- Lopez, Coentrao, Pepe, Ramos, Arbeloa, Khedira, Alonso, Di Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo, Benzema (4-2-3-1)

Tactical tweaks

With the man who did the suffocation job on Gerrard himself available, Michael Essien can be used by Mourinho to man mark the other Michael at the fulcrum of United’s midfield. Mourinho will also look to show the mono dimensional Valencia onto his weaker foot, which usually results in him playing a simple pass inside instead of crossing with his weaker foot.

Also looking at their superior aerial presence, playing narrower defensively will allow them not only to reduce space for Robin Van Persie but to also force United to play aerial balls which will serve Madrid better.

Personally speaking, I would play Gonzalo Higuain ahead of Benzema, the former’s versatility up front will cause a lot of problems for United’s organized back four. And speaking of versatility, having Kaka play a central attacking midfield role could cause Cleverley and Carrick to work overtime.

Tactically effective formation- Lopez, Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, Essien, Khedira, Alonso, Di Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo, Higuain (4-2-3-1)

All that remains now, is to wait and watch. Happy Valentine’s day gentlemen.