Problem with this is, all games were under Jose where we sucked at covering distance. Should check stats for PSG game only as we have improved a lot in this area.
When Mourinho was in charge, different players playing the same position, would cover significantly different distances. For instance, Dalot played one match in the CL this season and ran 10.7 km. It wasn't even a game that required tons of running as we led 2-0 at half-time and were 3-0 up after 66 mins. The main reason we sucked at covering distances was due to him buying and selecting players who can't run that much: Zlatan, Lukaku, Valencia, Young etc
Why you mentioning Valencia as a player who didn’t cover a lot of distance? Have you checked the numbers on that? His crossing might be shite and he might be über hesitant in trying to get past his man, but he’s been up and down that wing like a boss, with no let up.
Valencia averages just under 9.8 Km per 90 mins in the CL this season, that's 0.9 Km less than Dalot and slightly less than Shaw, fairly close to Young's figure. (stats from UEFA's website, they give total distance covered and mins played, I did the calculation)
Pretty good that, work rate can make quite a difference.
The no is incredible considering we had very low possession rate, which meant we did a lot of movement without the ball. By pushing PSG's coverage we managed to tire them down, particularly towards the last 15min. I believe this must be Ole's game plan.
We tried to tire them down by running further than them? No, we tried to defend well and patiently wait for our chance(s).
Both. On defending which we did most of the time, extra work rate to cover gaps. On counter-attack we pushed them to work harder. You might notice that PSG slowed down considerably in 2nd half and in particular after 70th, which could be due to tactics, but we did improve on ball possession which led to the goal. One of the criticism of PSG was that they slowed down alright but did not keep the ball as much as before.
Don't forget Hererra. He's a Durcacell bunny who would have run himself into the ground last night.
It's interesting that last night we played the sort of game that saw us out-worked by every other PL team under Mourinho. Defend deep and in numbers, then try to pick them off on the break.
I noticed at one point Rashford did a weak cross/possible shot from the left that came to nothing, but the wider picture was a break of 4 United players bearing down fast on 3 or 4 defenders. It fits in, and it was good!
That sums it all up with modern football.
He's right. If you wanna be top dog then set the bar in every aspect of the game, that will scare teams.
There's no more Mourinho to hide behind, and there's a lot to fight for yet this season if we are to play CL football next season.
The players have always been the major problem for me. Let's not forget that Jose had one of the best winning percentages of any of our managers before him at one stage, so results weren't necessarily always the issue. But Ole seems to have settled on playing more or less the same way as Jose. Same lineup, Mata occupying that false RW position that had baffled us all, deep defending and counter, slow passing, no movement in attack, 20 yards between attack and defence at times etc. All things our previous manager was blamed for. Then we still have the same inconsistency from our midfielders and attackers.
While it’s fair to say not EVERYTHING was Mourinhos fault, he only made things worse. it’s clear this squad has fitness issues and we need more energy in midfield especially. While Matic and Herrera are good in their own right they just don’t have enough speed to cover the pitch to play a pressing game.
Couldn't agree more. Overall performance not good enough.
Would love to know the stats under Ole. As it stands, this update tells us nothing we didn’t know when the thread was started.
Or maybe, just maybe, his rubbish managing of this team and the clear lack of fitness boils down to him.
Weird post.
Exactly. Well said.
