Think we should play lukaku and Rashford as wide forwards and play the cheat option by both of them not tracking back, stay forward. bit like the Arsenal away game in FA Cup for the 2nd goal. If we win ball back get it forward to them quickley. Barcelona will leave gaps at the back going forward especially both full backs.
Champions League QF: Manchester United v Barcelona - Build Up Thread
- Thread starter charlenefan
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Play a 3-5-2 or don't bother pitching.
I was hoping he'd be feasting on Villarreal vs Barca and the first Barca vs betis match.
Our home form in Europe has been appalling this season. Bizarre
Should not play matic. We should play Mctominay instead.
It's absolutely terrible. 1 win (late winner v Young Boys), 1 draw (Valencia 0-0) and 2 losses (Juve, PSG). In fact it's been pretty poor in the league too.
No Young, Matic and Lingard in our starting line up then I'll be fine with any outcome.
The RB remains the weak sport (Semedo or S.Roberto).
The first half of the Barça-Atlético was a prime example of how a team can survive with relative easy vs Barça.
They have a very defined way of play that is impossible to copy. They also don't change their shape to get an upper hand.
Didn't see that game but is it better to sit off Barca with men behind the ball or aggressively press and counter like we did in Ole's first 5-10 games as United boss?
How do we defend Alba's run? We've seen it a hundred times......
Messi on the right, runs inside with the ball, plays a 1-2 with Rakitic picking the ball left of centre. Alba has read the whole thing seconds ago and is right on the full-back. Messi plays that pass inside the full-back and it's a goal.
Messi on the right, runs inside with the ball, plays a 1-2 with Rakitic picking the ball left of centre. Alba has read the whole thing seconds ago and is right on the full-back. Messi plays that pass inside the full-back and it's a goal.
Dalot and Young on the right, ask Dalot (with his better speed) to stick to Alba throughout the game.
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/cha...-build-up-thread.445838/page-15#post-23859184
It may sound disgusting, but Ole should use the "Mou approach" in both legs: 10 players in 3 firm, tight lines trying to asphyxiate Messi and Arthur (and Alba's left wing), keeping them away from Suárez, and then the counters.
I'm clinging to my hope that two big nights at Old Trafford have been so disappointing this season. Juve and psg. We're a relatively inexperienced side in these types of games so hopefully now we won't freeze with those lessons behind us.
I'm so downbeat though I feel the players have been such an enormous let down. They've just completely stopped playing and the off pitch speculation of about 6 starters is crazy leading up to such a big game. If barca turn us over comfortably I don't think a single player in our squad should be comfortable and I'd probably back letting any of them go without sentiment. (OK maybe a couple of exceptions)
We need a psg away style spirit. City away last season spirit. Why this squad can only be bothered to show up now and then is infuriating but hopefully it's this week
I'm so downbeat though I feel the players have been such an enormous let down. They've just completely stopped playing and the off pitch speculation of about 6 starters is crazy leading up to such a big game. If barca turn us over comfortably I don't think a single player in our squad should be comfortable and I'd probably back letting any of them go without sentiment. (OK maybe a couple of exceptions)
We need a psg away style spirit. City away last season spirit. Why this squad can only be bothered to show up now and then is infuriating but hopefully it's this week
4-4-2 would help us control the pressure but We sadly don't have a RW for it. Maybe Lingard.
Not confident at all.
3-5-2 is another option.
Not confident at all.
3-5-2 is another option.
Depends on the system barca use, as space depends on the system others play too. If barca plays 433 it doesn't make sense to play 352 where they can find enough space between full backs and third central defender. A 433 with false 9 makes more sense.
Thankfully this ain’t the Barca of 2009-2011 we are up against.
Sadly it’s not the United of that era either.
Still think we can get a win this week if we get it right.
Sadly it’s not the United of that era either.
Still think we can get a win this week if we get it right.
Not at home no, Should definitely take the game to Barcelona in the first leg and plan according to the result in the second leg. Barcelona are vulnerable on certain aspects too why play into their hands at home?
To give Barça wide spaces is to play into their hands.
It’s going to be a difficult night , I can imagine the 1st 20 mins we will be trying to soak up the pressure and hoping to catch them on the counter.
It’s vital we don’t concede an early goal.
Is it impossible ? No
Can we do it ? Yes !
It’s vital we don’t concede an early goal.
Is it impossible ? No
Can we do it ? Yes !
Getting bogged down at home doesn't exactly helps us either. There were plenty of reasons we Sacked mourinho for, you just have to Up your energy and workrate to close spaces and have better transitions. We have some good creative players as well with more physicality and aerial threat, doing a Mourinho replica each time even at home is not the way. Also need to game manage at times.
We shouldnt be giving the ball away and just waiting for opportunity of counters.
Think we'll do well first match, but away fixture will cost us.
I'm getting more excited for this as it gets closer. We shouldn't fear them because they're obviously a better team but instead think of the times we've beaten big European teams when they were expected to beat us (PSG, Juve, Inter). If OT is up for it and the players are at their very best then why not 
Frankly, PSG away was more about PSG bottling it than us playing brilliantly. We had better not give Barca the sort of edge we gave the French side at Old Trafford. They will skin us at Nou Camp if we do. We have to beat them at home or at least draw to stand a chance. It is that straightforward.
We do need to err on the side of caution. Barça will be looking for that important away goal, and if Liverpool-Bayern has taught us one thing, it's that 0-0 can be a very advantageous result going into an away 2nd leg.
The reverse. Away goals are a pain, so better to go safety first at home. Then bombs away at Camp Nou.
Play Lukaku on the right, get him to hug the right touchline and stay up. Utilise him as the out ball and keep Alba pegged back or pull one of the centre halves out to keep an eye on him. They’ll have to keep Alba back if we do it correctly.
You see it, our coaching staff will see it too.
Patterns of play are absolutely drilled in with match preparations based on what ole has discussed about their coaching approach.
If young plays there he might actually deal with it well - he usually has a good handle on positioning and dealing with quicker players. However he will ensure we don’t have a right wing with his hopeless punts so god no.
Dalot has not developed his defensive habits like Shaw has. He’s still relying on using his athleticism and pace to make up ground on the overlap. So he’ll most likely not play as a sole right back in a back 4.
Solution? I think they will go with 5 at the back with the right CB will work on drills with the right wing back (hopefully Dalot) to memorize Barca’s pattern of play and make sure that tap stays shut.
Whichever masterpiece of tactics you come up with you will still never deal with Messi though. We just need to make sure we score more goals which is a lot more doable than stopping Messi
We need a miracle here. Miracles happen in football, sometimes several times a season. It's doable.
Barca are not the best pressing team out there and have problems in defence. It will be difficult but not impossible to win.
Barca are not the best pressing team out there and have problems in defence. It will be difficult but not impossible to win.
Quietly confident, no reason, just a feeling we'll have a night when everything goes our way, take a 2-0 lead to the second leg and hang on for dear life.
I don’t think we need a miracle. We have a worse squad than them but this isn’t 2018-12 Barcelona either, they’ve had their share of European struggles over the last 5 years and if we are at our best we might cause them trouble.
For what it’s worth I don’t think they are all that much stronger than PSG. They have better attack than PSG had against us (as they were missing Neymar and Cavani anyway) mainly because of Messi, comparable midfield and defense. It all comes down to how Messi plays - if he’s not having his day, anything can happen.
The pressure is on them to beat us. For us to even be here is an achievement, if we end up losing both games then tough luck but we won’t really consider it a disappointment. For them to lose against us would be monumental disaster.
That would be beyond spectacular.
Ya i agree mostly. I do think we started well at psg and as old fashioned as it sounds attitude, work rate, concentration can carry a team far. If we showed a trace of it in either game against bloody wolves we wouldnt have lost twice.
A small part of me is at least glad to just have a huge night like this ahead. It feels like it's been years and seemed impossible a few months ago. But our recent form has sapped my enthusiasm and affection for some of our players.
I'm still going to go with 2-2
I think Barca are way better in attack than the PSG team we played. PSG had Mbappe and Di Maria in attack and no creativity in midfield where they had 2 defenders - Alves and Marquinhos. Barca are on a completely different level creativity wise and can keep possession better too.
Barca are better than us and in a head to head tie I'm assuming they will win against PSG too just because of Messi factor. But what you said is true too, this Barca is nowhere near 2008-12 side. Last season Chelsea played really well against them and they were in slump. Roma played well against them in both legs. Like against any top side, we should out work them to stand a chance. Every one playing with intensity and with high work rate is the way to go. That's how Roma did it last season.
We are still Manchester United, losing 3-0 to Roma in the QF was more of a 'monumental disaster'. We are hugely inconsistent but losing to United (one of the greatest clubs in history) isn't that embarrassing. This is not the MSN era now or Pep's era, they can very much be gotten at.
I actually hate how we play based on how the opposition sets up. Back in the day we had our own formation and way of playing regardless of who we come up against. Whilst I agree it is naive to think we could play the same way against all teams I just feel like the United of today pays way too much respect to teams like PSG, Juve and Barca. I know they are better than us but why are they better than us? We were kings of England and Kings of Europe at one point. We are Manchester United for heaven sake. We take the bloody game to them. Regardless.
We can get at this Barca team. They are not impossible to beat like they were a few years ago. We are Manchester United. We can do this!