Welcome back! Manchester United’s best performance under Ralf Rangnick came in his opening game as manager but since then, we have seen shades of Solskjaer’s United so today I’m going to take a look at what’s going wrong on the field and how switching systems to the 4-4-2 Diamond could raise the performance levels at Old Trafford.

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Defensively, United have looked to counter press but players seem to be caught between Rangnick’s tactics and Solskjaer’s, with players not in effective pressing positions but not in a solid defensive block either. This was best summed up in the 1-0 FA Cup win over Aston Villa.
In this game United defended in a 4-4-2 two things were apparent: First United defended very wide. And second, when United did look to press high, the opposite side wingers were too far from their markers to actually engage which constantly allowed Villa to play around the press. Switching to a diamond would naturally make United's defensive shape more narrow as it basically becomes a narrow 4-3-3. The narrow 4-3-3 also offers a major counter attacking threat with two strikers already in the channels where they can stretch teams, but also a number 10 that can be used to link the transition. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool basically defend in the same 4-4-2 diamond or narrow 4-3-3 so we know it can be highly effective in the Premier League when it’s properly deployed.

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But United don’t just need help defensively. They’ve been quite poor offensively and have pretty much played all season with a flat attacking 4, which leaves no players in between the opposition’s lines and makes consistent ball progression very difficult. Switching to a diamond could help with this. This shape naturally makes use of the half spaces with the strikers and outside midfielders often operating in these zones with the number 10 and number 6 as pivot points. This structured system will help the players to take up good attacking positions and create diagonal passing lanes to help ball progression. The diamond will also naturally overload teams in central areas and the close proximity of the midfielders will also make progression easier as the passes will be short and simple as opposed to difficult, killer balls like we’d see when playing with a flat attacking line. From a personnel point of view, we could also see Bruno Fernandes in the midfield 3 with Donny van de Beek at number 10. In Rangnick’s diamond at Leipzig, the number 10 was more of a link man whilst the attacking threat came from the outside midfielders.

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Reverting to a 4-4-2 diamond would be going back to basics for United and that’s exactly what the players need. They’re learning a completely different style of football so a slow uptake should be expected but if they stick to Ralf Rangnick’s plan, they’ll be in a much better position come the end of the season.

But anyway guys what do you think? Should Manchester United switch to a diamond? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

#ManchesterUnited #PremierLeague

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