I REMEMBER when Barcelona’s entrance three was Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, individuals would ask: How do you cease them?
The reply is, you can not. What you are able to do although is cease their help traces.
Man Metropolis playmaker Kevin De Bruyne is just too good to be stopped when he has the ball, so Utd should cease him getting itCredit score: Getty Photos – Getty
Legendary Barcelona entrance three Luiz Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi had been unstoppable except the opposition in some way blocked provide tracesCredit score: Reuters
And that’s the mindset Manchester United should be in when coping with Metropolis’s Kevin De Bruyne within the derby this night.
Everyone knows United’s attacking strengths, particularly on the counter, however what we noticed of their defeat to RB Leipzig within the Champions League had been their defensive frailties.
Particularly, they sat far too deep with a again 5.
So there was no main shock that every one three of Leipzig’s targets got here from crosses.
You wish to be compact away from house however the deeper you sit the narrower you grow to be and you then’re in massive bother, particularly if you end up up in opposition to the likes of Metropolis’s Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy or Joao Cancelo.
City have resorted to a extra strong 4-2-3-1 since they had been nicely crushed away to Tottenham utilizing a 4-3-3 and can little question preserve possession after they go to Previous Trafford.
They’ve had extra of the ball than the opposition in 9 of their ten video games this season, the one exception being a difficult journey to Leeds.
Metropolis will doubtless have two sitters in Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan or Fernandinho, that means De Bruyne is given a free position within the No 10 place.
Rodri may very well be one among two sitters Man Metropolis use to present No10 Kevin De Bruyne extra freedom to roam Credit score: Getty Photos – Getty
Man Metropolis widemen like Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez may discover extra freedom if derby rivals United sit too deepCredit score: EPA
And that would spell hazard if United sit as deep as they did midweek.
If De Bruyne will get within the gap between the midfield and defence and has time to show and dictate, will probably be sport over for United.
Their full-backs or centre-backs can be pressured to step in and that leaves area both for Metropolis to assault from deep or by way of broad males Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez.
United should get their distances spot on and guarantee they block off De Bruyne’s help traces.
In the event you had been up in opposition to Messi, Suarez and Neymar, you’d make sure that Sergio Busquets couldn’t flip and cross — try this and also you had an opportunity.
So United’s midfield should be ready to squeeze the likes of Rodri and Gundogan.
In the meantime the defence should stay courageous and preserve as excessive as attainable to make sure De Bruyne is totally crowded out.
