By Daryl (@dgouilard) and @QuanTue

MANCHESTER CITY
MANCHESTER UNITED
MATCH REPORT

Pep Guardiola Ole Gunnar Solskjær

 MAN CITY LINEUPS MAN UNITED
4-1-2-3 4-2-3-1

Zinchenko Sterling James Wan-Bissaka

McTominay
Dias De Bruyne Lindelöf

90
70’ 88’
Ederson +3’ Henderson
Rodri Jesus Martial Fernandes

C
Fred
Stones Gündogän Maguire

65’ 73’

Mahrez Rashford
Cancelo Shaw

SUBSTITUTES
90
65’ 70’ 73’ 88’
+3’
Walker Foden Greenwood Matić Williams
MANCHESTER CITY
In possession
 OVERVIEW
By @QuanTue

• 3-2-4-1 shape, with one FB stay wide to form a back 3, one move into the midfield & form double pivot
GENERAL
• Push the defense line into opposition half
SHAPE • Lone striker Jesus often try to link up, and use lay off, ready to move wide
• On paper, Gundogan & De Bruyne would cover two half spaces, however they often move to ball side (often the left wing)
BUILD-UP -> Overload one side and attack on the other, creating room for Mahrez to dribble with Cancelo being the one to support him
• GK Ederson become a part of build up to counter Man United high press
PLAY • Two “pivot”, Rodri & Cancelo often move to half space to support the build up & help progress the ball
• At times Sterling, Mahrez drop deep down as United got at least 4-5 players during high press

BUILD UP/
• Unlikely to play a long goal kick as they want to build up from the back, usually the ball is sent to either CB or FB.
FINAL THIRD
• Either try to penetrate from half space then send in low cross or cut back
TRAITS

• Zinchenko moved back and formed a back 3 with 2 CBs; position wider when under pressure, move closer to each other
while United reshape
WIDE • Cancelo along with Rodri form a double pivot. Sometimes he would push up higher, intent to form triangle on the flank
MOVEMENTS/ • Sterling, Mahrez often stay wide and higher up on the pitch
ROTATIONS • Sterling would usually aim for run behind the defence to send low cross or to finish, while Mahrez would often dribble in
1v1 situations, either to breakthrough or draw defenders attention then send into a teammate who has space.
• When Foden came on, Sterling moved into the middle; was ready to drop deeper to help the build up phase and drive the
ball forward, by picking space in between
GENERAL SHAPE
(video link attached to image)

• 3-2-4-1 shape, with one FB

stay wide to form a back 3,
one move into the midfield &
form double pivot
• Push the defense line into
opposition half
• Lone striker Jesus often try to
link up, and use lay off, ready
to move wide
 BUILD-UP/FINAL THIRD TRAITS

• Unlikely to play a long goal

kick as they want to build
up from the back, usually
the ball is sent to either CB
or FB.
• Either try to penetrate
from half space then send
in low cross or cut back

(video 1) (video 2) (video 3)

 WIDE MOVEMENTS/ROTATIONS
(video link attached to image)
• Zinchenko moved back and formed a
back 3 with 2 CBs; position wider when
under pressure, move closer to each
other while United reshape
• Cancelo along with Rodri form a double
pivot. Sometimes he would push up
higher, intent to form triangle on the flank
• Sterling, Mahrez often stay wide and
higher up on the pitch
• Sterling would usually aim for run behind
the defence to send low cross or to finish,
while Mahrez would often dribble in 1v1
situations, either to breakthrough or
draw defenders attention then send into
a teammate who has space.
• When Foden came on, Sterling moved
into the middle; was ready to drop
deeper to help the build up phase and
(video 1) (video 2) drive the ball forward, by picking space
in between
Out of possession
 OVERVIEW
By @QuanTue

• 4-4-2/4-1-4-1 in 1st half, Jesus up front with sometimes De Bruyne go up along with him
GENERAL • Wingers will stay in same line with 2 pivots
SHAPE • Can also use a 4-3-3, with Sterling, Mahrez, Jesus up front, Gundogan & KDB usually follow up and press the CM from
United

PRESSING • Aim to cut the passing lane then start to close down, the opponents, force them to make long pass or even
TENDENCIES steal the ball back for a quick counter.

HIGH/MID • 4-4-2 shape, with De Bruyne & Jesus constantly try to apply pressure
• If Cancelo goes up to close down, Rodri moves back to the defense line so Stones could step into the space Cancelo left
BLOCK • Change to 4-3-3 in 2nd half, to have more players up front to retain possession, and better cover centrally

LOW BLOCK • Same with mid block shape, switch from 4-4-2 in 1st half to 4-3-3 in 2nd half, with Sterling & Gundogan
SHAPE drop back to the middle. 3 players up front stay in the middle and wait for counter

• Try to get back the ball as quickly as possible, with the nearest player immediately close down the one
DEFENSIVE who has the ball, others try to cut passing lanes first, then turn into a 2,3v1 to retain the ball
TRANSITIONING • 2 CBs & Zinchenko usually stay back to prepare for a potential counter
• Attack through the half-space flanks as United tend to cover middle area
MANCHESTER UNITED
In possession
 OVERVIEW
By @dgouilard

• 4-2-3-1 with McTominay and Fred stayed close to the CBs

GENERAL
• Both WBs also stayed deep to join the build-up phase
SHAPE • Both wingers remained high up the pitch to pin down Man City’s defensive line

• Preferred to play the ball short, but can also play it long to the space behind Man City’s midfielders
BUILD-UP
• Used short passes and link up plays when distributing the ball wide
PLAY
• Lost the ball quite frequently inside their own defensive third and middle third due to Man City’s press

• Fernandes usually roamed from his position, specifically to find space to position himself into
MOVEMENTS/ • Shaw tended to overlap (and sometimes underlap) more on the left than Wan-Bissaka on the right
ROTATIONS • James and Rashford tended to hug the line when the team had the ball
-> Looked to stretch Man City’s defensive line and create space centrally

• Relied mostly on counter-attacks to progress the ball into the final third
FINAL THIRD
• Occasionally created positional attacks from the back, were very efficient with it (led to Shaw’s goal)
TRAITS
• Players’ movements and link up plays were key factors for Man United inside the final third

• Played it quick by relying on the pace of Rashford, James and Shaw

OFFENSIVE
• The front four led the line and attempted to disrupt Man City’s defensive line
TRANSITIONING
• McTominay and Fred arrived later and looked to win second balls from outside of the box
GENERAL SHAPE & BUILD-UP PLAY
(video link attached to image)
• 4-2-3-1 with McTominay and
Fred stayed close to the CBs
• Both WBs also stayed deep to
join the build-up phase
• Both wingers remained high up
the pitch to pin down Man City’s
defensive line
• Preferred to play the ball short,
but can also play it long to the
space behind Man City’s
midfielders
• Used short passes and link up
plays when distributing the ball
wide
• Lost the ball quite frequently
inside their own defensive third
and middle third due to Man
City’s press
 FINAL THIRD/TRANSITIONING
• Relied mostly on counter-attacks
(Luke Shaw’s goal)
to progress the ball into the final
third
• Occasionally created positional
attacks from the back, were very
efficient with it (led to Shaw’s
goal)
• Players’ movements and link up
plays were key factors for Man
United inside the final third
• Played it quick by relying on the
pace of Rashford, James and
Shaw
• The front four led the line and
attempted to disrupt Man City’s
defensive line
• McTominay and Fred arrived
later and looked to win second
(@dgouilard’s analysis) (@QuanTue’s analysis) balls from outside of the box
Out of possession
 OVERVIEW
By @dgouilard

• 4-2-3-1 with McTominay and Fred sat in between the defenders and attacking midfielders
GENERAL
• Could also change to a 4-1-4-1 when McTominay pushed forward to press
SHAPE • Players maintained a decent distance between each other inside the shape

• Pressed high up the pitch in the early minutes of the match, but started to drop deep later
PRESSING
• Man-oriented press with the intention of winning numerical superiority while overloading the wide space
TENDENCIES
• Were slightly aggressive when pressing Man City’s defenders inside their own half

• 4-2-3-1 with the defensive line pushed high, specifically near the halfway line
HIGH/MID
• Either Fred or McTominay would stay back to screen the defensive line, the other pushed forward to press
BLOCK
• Only formed a high block in the early minutes of the match to support the press

• Also a 4-2-3-1, but could also be seen as a 4-1-4-1 should Man City attacked with a double pivot
LOW BLOCK
• Intended to overload the central area and forced Man City to play the ball wide
SHAPE
• Would shift the shape wide when the opposition opted to do so to also overload the flank

• Occurred slightly quick with the midfielders attempted to track back to screen the defensive line
DEFENSIVE • Could be aggressive while tracking back if the ball was further away from their defensive third
TRANSITIONING • Would find the opportunity to press Man City immediately, but preferred to form the mid-to-low block after losing
the ball
 PRESSING TENDENCIES

• Pressed high up the pitch in the

early minutes of the match, but
started to drop deep later
• Man-oriented press with the
intention of winning numerical
superiority while overloading the
wide space
• Were slightly aggressive when
pressing Man City’s defenders
inside their own half
• Also attempted to force and
overload the flank when Man
City had the ball in the area
• Fred and McTominay were seen
(@dgouilard’s analysis) (@QuanTue’s analysis) marking Gündogän quite often
during the match
HIGH/MID BLOCK

• 4-2-3-1 with the defensive line

pushed high, specifically near
the halfway line
• Either Fred or McTominay would
stay back to screen the
defensive line, the other pushed
forward to press
• Fred and McTominay also stayed
slightly wide to mark Man City’s
central midfielders
• Only formed a high block in the
early minutes of the match to
support the press
LOW BLOCK SHAPE

• Also a 4-2-3-1, but could also be

seen as a 4-1-4-1 should Man
City attacked with a double
pivot
• Fred could drop in between
Maguire and Shaw to create a
back five when Cancelo sat
narrowly
• Intended to overload the central
area and forced Man City to play
the ball wide
• Would shift the shape wide when
the opposition opted to do so to
also overload the flank
Takeaways
 TAKEAWAYS
(@QuanTue):
• United gameplan becomes easier to execute as they have an early goal. They were able to push/delay
City away from the critical area most of the time -> The Citizens just 0.5 slower during final ball.
• City was able to reach final third, bypass United press with Gundogan movement, create 2v1 on the
flanks, dribbles to draw players in
• Unlike their 28 unbeaten run, City failed to finish their chance, as they often shoot from outside the box
with load of Man United players in front/delayed to finish in time

(@dgouilard):
• Using a low-block against Man City is now starting to become a very effective tactic, with West Ham
and Man United have left the Etihad with a narrow loss and all three points respectively.
• West Ham’s low-block, however, did not have anyone who could screen their back five, while Man
United had both McTominay and Fred.
• They also lacked efficiency in their attacks, with 9 shots and 1.6 xG, they only managed to create 3
shots on target and 1 goal. Man United had less shots, with 8 shots and a relatively similar xG to West
Ham (1.8 xG), but came away with 6 on target.
• It would be fair to say that West Ham were unlucky to have conceded two goals from second balls from
a corner, but Man United’s defensive discipline and efficiency inside the final third won them the derby.