Siddharth Juyal
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag emphasised the resiliency of his players, staying true to his “plan” against Chelsea
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag highlighted his team’s resiliency as they beat Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford. The Dutchman stressed the importance of sticking to the plan but failed to elaborate on what that plan was.
The closely contested game had numerous errors and opportunities for both clubs but the host had the upper hand offensively. United took 28 shots with nine on target against Chelsea’s 13 with only three hitting the target.
The two rivals only registered an 85% passing rate, struggling to maintain composure as Chelsea dominated 56% of the possession. The Red Devils took an early lead through Scott McTominay in the 19th minute following a corner kick.
Chelsea fought back in the 45th minute just before halftime through a clinical finish from Cole Palmer. McTominay scored a winner in the 69th minute to continue his high-goal-scoring form this season.
Ten Hag told TNT Sports (h/t Sky Sports) that the win shows the resilient attribute of the team. He said:
“This team is resilient. We’ve seen it after City, we had a bad defeat but then we kept together, stuck to the plan and kept going.”
Ten Hag has deployed a rigid 4-2-4 formation since the games just before the November international break. The formation has proven slightly optimistic compared to the incohesive and inconsistent performances before its introduction.
The tactical approach allows Ten Hag to play captain Bruno Fernandes as the main creative outlet in the midfield. The Portuguese international plays closest to the main striker while the Red Devils play a double-pivot deep midfield.
Wide players are responsible for stretching the opposition which leaves spaces for deep midfielders to exploit with late runs. McTominay has enjoyed the formation and featured more consistently in it, scoring important goals for the team.
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We can only speculate about the plan as Ten Hag did not provide the details about it. However, we think that he merely pointed at the tactical approach that has left few players in an unpreferable position.
Marcus Rashford prefers to play in the left flank from where he can cut inside and shoot from his dominant foot. However, the 26-year-old has failed to deliver for Ten Hag’s team this season and the manager cannot continue to build the team around him.
