Manchester United 3-2 Bayern Munich: Arjen Robben does it again
Bayern do it again. Their victory in the last round against Fiorentina featured a last-minute goal at home to win the first leg 2-1, and then a 2-3 defeat away from home, with a brilliant Arjen Robben ‘winner’ near the end. It seemed inevitable when Bayern pulled a goal back before half-time that the same would happen here.
Bayern set out as expected – two deep midfielders, attacking wingers and Thomas Muller behind Ivica Olic. No suprises there, but a big surprise for United – Wayne Rooney started. This didn’t change United’s shape as such – it was always going to be a straight choice between him and Dimitar Berbatov, although there can be little doubt that United play better with Rooney in the side. Sir Alex Ferguson dropped his three veterans – Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, with the fresher legs of Nani, Darron Gibson and Rafael in to replace them.
If this was a deliberate tactic because Ferguson wanted United to press aggressively from the outset, it worked brilliantly. United blitzed Bayern in the first ten minutes and went 2-0 up. Whereas United’s full-backs stood off in the first game, allowing Bayern’s wingers time to turn and run at them, tonight they pushed high up the pitch, confronting Ribery and Robben as soon as they received the ball.
Gibson was deployed as the furthest forward midfielder, and this paid dividends immediately when one of his trademark long-range strikes evaded Hans-Jorg Butt to give United the lead.
The second and third goals came from the same source – Valencia running at Badstuber, who was exposed horribly throughout the first half, then crossing for Nani. The second goal in particular was almost painful to watch, as Valencia held the ball for so long before actually beating the German left-back. Mark van Bommel could have helped double up on Valencia, but instead was concerned about midfield runners (perhaps as a result of United having a spare man in the centre) and so a simple shift allowed Valencia to get the ball in.
The sending-off of Rafael changed everything. United were forced to revert to a 4-4-1 system with Nani upfront alone – not the player you want to try and hold the ball up, and Bayern just kept coming because they dominated possession so much. But United were actually relatively comfortable for much of the second half; playing with ten men against a 4-4-2 isn’t that difficult if you go 4-4-1 – you simply get two banks of four infront of your goalkeeper, and unless the opposition are brave enough to push a centre-back forward, you defend in much the same way you would with a 4-4-2. Of course, Bayern are a side that have a centre-back step up into the midfield anyway, in Martin Demichelis, and so Bayern dominated possession even more than they would have been expected to.
It took a set-piece – and a wonderful strike – to put Bayern into the lead in the tie. The ultimate irony was that Robben smashed the ball right into the bottom-left of the goal, which had been the near post from Ribery’s corner. The man who had been charged with the responsibility of marking that post was Rafael, now watching the game from the dressing room.
Having pressed so strongly in the first half, and chased the ball with a man less for much of the second, United were simply in no fit state to go looking for another goal, and barely threatened for the 17 minutes after Robben’s strike. Indeed it’s interesting that in the three games in this round where a side have really made a point of pressing aggressively in the opening 15 minutes, and therefore dominated the opening period (Barcelona away at Arsenal, Arsenal away at Barcelona and Manchester United at home to Bayern Munich) have tired noticeably as the game went on, and lost their lead. An interesting feature in a week where Jonathan Wilson wrote a great piece about pressing.
Just as Cesare Prandelli felt after Fiorentina’s defeat to Bayern, Ferguson was insistent that he got it tactically right, and (again like with Fiorentina) Bayern’s advantage came only when they had an extra man.
Ferguson can’t be faulted on tonight’s display alone, but United perhaps suffered because of more long-term concerns. In losing Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez – and replacing them with Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia, they are less tactically able. Not necessarily because of a lack of quality, because it is arguable that the likes of Wayne Rooney and Nani have improved their game well enough to compensate for the loss of two star players, but because United have fewer options in an attacking sense. Ronaldo could play on the right or the left, upfront alone or just behind a striker, whilst Tevez could play upfront or on the wing. But Owen is a fairly one-dimensional forward (and has been injured for the entire knockout stages) and Valencia is handicapped by the fact (as acknowledged by Ferguson ahead of the first leg) that he can only play on the right.
And therefore in the past fortnight, United have suddenly seemed quite lacking going forward when Rooney has been off the pitch. Ferguson did everything he could tonight with the players available to him – but maybe that is the problem, that he just doesn’t have enough options available to him.
That said, this was a game of two legs – we must look to Munich to consider where United actually lost the tie. Ferguson’s removal of Michael Carrick for Dimitar Berbatov seemed strang at the time and it seemed foolish at the end of the first game, but it seems an absolute disaster now.
Manchester United 3-2 Bayern Munich: Arjen Robben does it again
I personally thought that O’Shea’s introduction was bad, I would have preferred to see Fletcher there. O’Shea was sitting too deep, this meant that Ribery had the ball and a lot of time and space.
further, I would have made earlier but different subs. Macheda is a player that could have hurt Bayern big time while Berbatov was easy to contain. Also, why throw away all your midfield players when you need to have the ball or win it back?
The first 30 minutes I thought that ManU will have another Roma game because they were too dominant. But after taking their feet of the gas and somehow letting Bayern back in, they lost the game by sheer stupidity.
Rafael’s red card decided this match (sadly)…
Man U can consider Olic’s goal a very sloppy goal to concede.. But why was Carrick marking Olic at that goal? Where was Vidic/Ferdinand (who both played quite well I think)??
In the initial five minutes after Rafael was sent off, it looked more like United went 4-3-1-1, with both a midfielder and the link-up man dropping back to form a 5-3-1 when Bayern looked to deliver the final ball. It was only once Bayern spread themselves across the entirety of the pitch that united went 4-4-1.
I think the sending off was a little harsh- Rafael was fouled by Badstuber before foolishly retaliating and, once booked, Badstuber committed himself to a similarly unwise challenge soon after, but only a stern telling off was his punishment.
United also had more than enough chances to secure the win in the first half, but there was some profligate shooting and, mentally, it seemed that they may have felt the tie was over at 3v0.
I do not know if that was the one you mean, but Badstuber did get a yellow card and for a while I thought he wouldn’t last the match.
What a travesty.
Rafael played a fantastic 54 minutes, making only 4 errors. But those were fatal.
First, he got himself booked for retaliation. A very harsh card from an inconsistent and generally very poor referee, and Rafael should have been awarded a freekick as he was clearly hacked down. But it was a grave error to kick back like he did. His second error was going for glory when a simple sideways pass to Rooney would surely have produced a goal. Third, he was caught out of position for Bayern’s first goal (Although Carrick was at fault for staying too close to Olic, thereby losing his balance). And then, fourth, and most fatal, getting himself sent off for a needless foul on Ribery when United had lots of men behind the ball.
What a performance from Nani. The energy and drive provided by Nani, Rafael and Gibson was sorely missed against Chelsea. With those 3 playing, United might have salvaged a point.
Ahead of the Quarter Finals of the CL everything looked remarkably rosy. A while ago I would never have dared to hope that United would be top of the table, ahead of Chelsea prior to their meeting at OT. I would have been more than content if United were within two points of Chelsea.
So to be a point ahead, and also seeming to have found their form at just the right time, was a dream scenario.
And when the draw for the CL was made – bayern in QF, then Lyon/bourdeaux in semis, it suddenly looked realistic that United would make it to their 3rd final in succession.
Imagine, an historically unprecedented fourth consequtive league trophy and 3 CL finals in a row – what an astonishing achievement that would have been!
Then, within a week, it all fell apart.
United, having already secured a precious away goal, should have taken Rooney off early to give him a much-needed rest ahead of the title-decider against Chelsea. And they should definitely not play the old codgers Neville, Scholes and Giggs in both matches. SAF must take part of the blame here!
I cannot help but think that United would still be in the CL but for Hargreaves’ protracted injury. Hargreaves was brilliant in the 2007-08 season. And he is especially important when playing an adventurous, attacking fullback like Rafael.
The consolation must be that if Hargreaves can reemerge for next season fully-fit, and Anderson improving and Rafael gaining experience, things are looking good for the future.
Rafael’s first booking was totally deserved. It was silly of him to lash out. People forget Beckham was sent off for England for a similar incident, so Rafael could’ve been given a straight red (the only reason it wasn’t was probably because of how bad Badstuber’s foul was). The second foul was even sillier.
The boy’s got loads of talent but he really needs to grow up.
Re: Pressing – Wilson is correct in his assessment of Guardiola’s possibly unstructured thought process regarding pressing – Barca do a full press, because they have the fitness to do so and the skill to rest with the ball. But this kind of pressing only lasts for 60-70 minutes. After that, even the fittest team will fade in parts. That’s why it works for barca that they are so good on the ball. A lesser team doing the same thing will concede late goals or goal chances due to fatigue somewhere on the field.
I find this pressing thing most intriguing mcgie….
It is one of the most underrated tactic of FC Barca. Everyone knows about their possession and passing abilities but it is what they do w/out the ball that makes them as successful as they are today. They harry opponents like savage dogs the moment they lose the ball and they press up really high up the pitch to restrict space for their opponents.
This tactic requires alot of discipline and hard work and most people don’t associate that with barca but they do. In doing so other teams will panic after a pass or two and give the ball back to them. But when an opponent tries to do the same with Barca, guess what, they are the Masters of possession and playing little triangles in small spaces.
They are a joy of a team to behold at the moment. I agree with ZM, these teams come once in a life time like Rinus Michel’s Holland and Sacchi’s Milan. Its a privilege for all football purists to see Guardiola’s Barca add themselves to that elite List
You don’t mention the Olic goal, thought that was a massive turning point along with the red card. United had just scored their third and looked almost over-the-line when Olic struck just before the break.
It mentions it in the opening paragraph – that when the goal went in a Bayern win seemed inevitable, which I suppose is the same as a turning point.
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It has long been a feature of the professional game that injured players are ‘encouraged’ to play -this probably wasn’t necessary in the case of Rooney but still it was irresponsible at best, and reckless for United’s league campaign and possibly England’s World Cup chances. (I know this is management rather than tactics but they are closely related)
I lament the English clubs’ comprehensive ejection from the top club competition and pose the questions as to why here: http://www.cerebralfootballer.com/2010/04/commiserations-england/
Another big game, another horrible performance from Michael Carrick. I think his days at united are seriously numbered unless he remembers he can actually play football soon. Ferguson has a wing pairing that matches any in the world and a truly great centre forward, he now needs to sort out the central area.
I must confess to being a big Carrick fan, but he’s played poor in United’s big games recently, certainly.
I agree. I think he works better when playing a 4-4-2-ish formation, where he has a player giving him cover (like Fletcher or Hargreaves) and he can pull the strings by whipping perfect passes for the wingers and forwards. In any case, any player is allowed a run of bad form. This is Carrick’s.
Yes, I think you are right that it would be best to have someone to aid him. But in a 4-1-2-3, in which he was sitting, he became too exposed and not quite the controller of space that Ferguson needs him to be.
“Ferguson has a wing pairing that matches any in the world…”
Surely you’re having a laugh? Valencia is at best an effective one-dimensional winger, who has no left foot when cutting in. Nani’s flashes of brilliance comes nowhere near the levels of performance (then) CR7 afforded Man United, nor the other top-level wingers like Robben, Messi, Ribery.
Nani’s crosses are laughable, and so are his corners, as they both lack the accuracy and right trajectory. Only effective (at all) when he cuts in, he does not have the ability to send a decent ball in when cutting to the byline on the left.
Now, that’s a wing pairing to match any in the world? Or has standards dropped of late?
In any case, likewise with ZM, I’ve always been a huge fan of Carrick, but even then I’d have to whole-heartedly agree that his performances this season have been underwhelming.
The only thing to criticise about Nani is his consistency. He has great pace, technique, good vision and very good crosses, but, and this is a huge but, he lacks consistency and concentration (that comes from a lack of humility). If he solves that, he’ll be one of the best wingers in the world, even if not s good as Ribéry.
Noting Robben and Ribéry as wingers is not exactly correct. Robben almost never looks for the byline, as he has no right foot (something very clearly seen yesterday, when he got half a yard on Evra a couple of times and then couldn’t deliver with the right) and prefers to leave the crosses for the overlapping Lahm. Calling him a winger is like calling Messi a winger. Ribéry is a better player with both feet, so he can look for crosses with his left foot (as Badstuber is originally a centre back, I think) but prefers to cut inside.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, is no real winger. He played it a few times, but he has far more goals than assists, and that’s not exactly the mark of a winger.
In my humble opinion, in the modern era of futbol, the definition of wingers cannot be truly asserted or clamped down upon. In the first place, there are different ways to play a single position, and with the increasing fluidity of systems, it is rather simplistic to assert that a winger must fulfil certain tasks, likewise for an attacking midfielder, etc.
For the first point, compare A.Iniesta playing at the tip of the midfield triangle for Barcelona against F.Lampard in the Mourinho era. If goals are a sign of a good attacking midfielder, Iniesta was and is still not an attacking midfielder, because he just doesn’t score much, but he does play that role of Barca at times. Lampard plays it very much like Scholes — spreading the ball and more importantly having that eye for a goal. Iniesta plays the role of a mobile creative midfielder, who helps Barcelona to move the ball along while aiding the team to unlock well-organised defences with his dribbles and through passes. Both of them play the same position, both are of great importance to their respective teams, but their roles cannot be any more different. Who’s playing it right, then?
On the latter, I think CR9 (first) and Rooney has shown how they have merged the winger/wing-forward/striker role and second-striker/centre-forward respectively. I think Keita’s role for Barcelona against Arsenal, which is similar to Ramires’s role for Brazil, is proof enough that footballers are increasingly called upon to be versatile. Pedro is a second striker, or is he? He played pseudo right winger (in 4-2-4) and wing-forward against Barcelona. Then again, what’s the difference, really, between right winger and wing-forward? The (extent of the) responsibility to track back? The job to cross it in more? I don’t know, and I don’t exactly fancy a try at guessing it.
My point for stating the above is this: by a vague definition going by their relative position on the pitch, I compared Nani/Valencia to Ribery/Robben/Messi/Ronaldo. However, I think, if anything, the argument thus far has proved that defining positions and comparing players in similar positions is ineffective and futile; instead, we should compare the concerned players’ effective and aptitude in the similar roles they partake in for their team.
For example, is Nani better (in terms of effectiveness, threat, ability) than Robben in terms of cutting in and becoming a goal threat? Otherwise, comparing two wingers of contrasting style, and then expecting an outcome on who’s the better of the two, will be just as ineffectual as attempting to make a call on the long drawn Pele-Maradona dichotomy. Likewise, Beckham certainly didn’t lit up the place like Giggs did. But was he just about as important to the 1999 Manchester United squad as Giggs? He’d prolly was.
(P.S. I would like to apologise in advance if I do seem to be coming on too strongly. I can be rather assertive, but I mean no harm. I enjoy ZM’s tactical analysis very much, and I do very much appreciate and admire the intellectual discourse that’s going around here. (: )
Nah that’s a great post, I really enjoyed that.
The point about Ramires and Keita is interesting, one I thought about myself yesterday. Indeed the way Barca have played recently could be described as similar to a mirror image of the formation Brazil field – or at least it is with Keita in the side. With Iniesta it seemed like he played more offensively, although he could easily play the more central/conservative role.
Valencia has scored 7 and assisted plenty of goals this season despite having “no left foot” not all wingers have to cut in to be effctive… In fact a pairing of one touchline hugging winger with an inside forward on the other flank can be very, very effective as was shown last night when Valencia created both of Nani’s goals. I think Nani and Valencia are every bit as good as Robben/Ribery. Both pairings have limitations and both are reasonably effective, can’t see many other genuine wing pairings being played by top sides in this day and age.. so I’ll stick with my assertion thanks.
Assisted plenty of goals? According to ESPN, he’s got 11 assists. That’s not “plenty”. In fact Nani, despite starting five games less, is only two behind Valencia for assists.
For the record Ribery has 6 goals and 10 assists despite starting 15 games less than Valencia. Robben has 21 goals and 8 assists having started three games less than Valencia. Between them Robben and Ribery have 27 goals and 18 assists, Nani and Valencia, having started more games, have 14 goals and 20 assists. The United pair have 2 more assists but 13 less goals.
Hell, United’s pairing isn’t even the best in the Premier League. Malouda and Cole between them have 18 goals and 21 assists having started 3 games less than the United pair.
In the interests of full disclosure, I’m not a Chelsea fan (can’t stand them) or a Bayern fan.
“Manchester United 2-3 Bayern Munich”
Spot the deliberate mistake!
Oops, cheers
I think the Red Card will be talked about more than Alex Ferguson’s first game substitution. Whatever went wrong in the first leg was more than corrected in the second until the card.
Honestly, after what happened to United and Arsenal, Chelsea look blessed to have crashed out as early as they did. Chelsea has played great since then while United/Arsenal look tired and both had their key players injured (Fabregas/Rooney).
The fact that Arsenal and United have nothing to show for their hard fought battles except lower league positions is a tough pill to swallow.
Thing is, the red card was justified, so the only thing left to talk about is Fergie’s mistakes.
Rafael looked a cracking player tonight. However, I’ve considered him a bit of a liability for a while as once again he showed this apparent habit he has of grabbing an opponents arm or shoulder when they go past him to give away a foul with no thought as to the consequences. There’s been a few examples of this this season from him, one being a needless penalty at Hull. When he got booked in the first half me & people I was with all agreed there was not a chance he’d see the 90 minutes out one way or another. Tempting to say that Fergie should have subbed him but obviously he’s got to have faith in his players to have some discipline and see the game out. However, Rafael does not possess this. Hopefully with coaching over time he’ll cut it out soon, otherwise he’s just too much of a risk for big games.
On that, fair point to Ferguson. He pointed out that Rafael is young and needs to learn. Maybe United paid for it last night, but Ferguson keeps faith with his players and always takes a longer view. His decision was good (Rafael had a great match subduing Ribéry), but Rafael’s inexperience got the better of him.
The odd thing here is just how bad the ref was, and I’m surprised you didn’t comment on it. He was incredibly fast to serve Bayern with free kicks – the 16:9 foul statistics bely the fact that more than once was he caught with his arms already signalling for a Bayern free kick when there was no foul, and having to rapidly change that.
Rafael’s 2nd yellow was senseless, but you can’t help thinking it was a tactical mistake by Ferguson not to have Neville on the bench. He’s old and past it, but a calm head which was sorely missed when Rafael should’ve been pulled off at half-time.
Again a… not horrible, but lacking performance from Carrick, who seems to struggle when in a full-blown DM position. It’d be very interesting to see you do an analysis of the United midfield, especially with and without Hargreaves – who Ferguson seems to wait ever-patiently for. To me they lack the playmaker/enforcer setup of old (and current for most spanish/italian teams) which I’d say is the main source of their inflexibility – that and the old problem of not having 4 strikers, something Ferguson said was key to cracking the treble + Champions League in particular.
It was interesting to see Nani/Valencia/Robben/Ribery all looking like similarly good options, however I think Ribery looked worst because Evra was the best defender of the 4.
There seems little point talking about Bayern – great strike after 40 minutes of pressure isn’t a tactical relevance.
This site doesn’t really discuss refereeing decisions – there are lots of football sites featuring football fans complaining about referees, and few sites that discuss tactics, so let’s try and keep this one the latter.
(There was slight exception with Bayern’s previous game against Fiorentina, but that was the worst refereeing performance I’ve ever seen watching football. Bayern should have had two players sent-off, a Fiorentina player was sent-off for no reason, and then the Bayern goal was three years offside. It’s hard to ignore that.)
The refereeing performance tonight wasn’t particularly noteworthy.
Very much agree with ZM there…
In all honesty, Bayern have been riding their luck quite a bit in the CL (group and knockout stages) and it’s probably going to get quite exhausting fighting back from 1, 2, or 3 goals down match after match… Lyon have a chance honestly and I hope they can do it… Winner of Barca-Inter game is probably going to win CL… if you beat Barca, heck then you can beat anyone, and if (and hopefully they will) Barca win then certainly they can dismantle the Germans/French… Interesting CL year this year, lots of surprises….
While I agree with the general position of this site, when a team is so far in the ascendency and the ref is doing more to break up the onslaught than the opposing team, that’s notable. As a neutral, I agree with ‘guest’ below in that Bayern rode their luck.
The key takeaway point was how intelligently Bayern played against 10 men – a tactical masterpiece in the way they didn’t compress United too much and left themselves with space to play, and a spare man.
I agree the Referee had a mare. However United have been handed favourable ref decisions at OT for years now and it’s becoming a joke in England!
I guess finally it caught up with the Devils. Tactically though, I agree with ZM (excellent analysis as always). Ferguson started off great tactically. A fitter and fresher Gibson and fletcher and two very fit wingers in Nani and Valencia meant that Bayern did not have a sniff of the ball in the first half. Notice the obvious exclusion of carrick here.
United dominated the midfield because Bayern’s Van Bommel and Shweinsteiger couldn’t cope with the pace and aggression of United’s midfield. Bayern rely so much in Ribery and Robben it’s untrue!
Alas young Rafael(who had a good game) got himself sent off and the tables turned. I thought to put Nani up and changed Rooney for Oshea was a bad move by Alex. It inspired Bayern to have a Man advantage and to see the back of Rooney.
For the first time Demichelis had the space now to dictate from the back and controlled midfield and the game was lost for United.It is also obvious that Ferguson does not trust Berbatov at the highest level hence the sub. And the rest was history.
“It was interesting to see Nani/Valencia/Robben/Ribery all looking like similarly good options, however I think Ribery looked worst because Evra was the best defender of the 4.”
Wasn’t Robben the one going down Bayern’s right wing against Evra? o.0 And I thought Robben was kept relatively quiet for the majority of the game because of the excellent stifling Man United defenders did.
That’s right, I’m wondering if the OP meant to say Rafael got the better of Ribery.
However, in the early stages young Rafael was spending a LOT of energy, as ZM points out, getting tight and rising to Ribery almost as soon as he gets the ball.
This tactic works but 2 things stood out for me in those early stages – 1) It is difficult for the full-back to maintain that level of energy (and getting forward) and 2) Ribery is experienced enough to bide his time until the correct chance arises. That is use his experience to “let” Rafael mark him out of the opening 30 minutes, but as the game winds on make the most of crucial mistakes linked to the inexperience and fitness of Rafael.
So while Rafael looked fantastic when he was on the park, I was confident Ribery would eventually get the better of him. Obviously it never came to that with the deserved red card, but Ribery’s use of space when playing against 2 banks of 4 underlines how intelligent he can be as the game develops…
Different strokes.
The referee was bloody superb tonight. Despite the likes of ITV insinuating he was ‘young.’
Kicking out is always a yellow (or a red for Mr Beckham) and the second yellow was well deserved as well. Ribery was running full tilt into a dangerous area and as such a dangerous atack was on. It was naive defending.
The referee let the game flow and was not whistle happy and above all fair.
Rooney should have come off as soon as he was injured, he lacked mobility. To delay after the sending off was very poor management.
Wonderful goal though.
And van Bommel got a yellow card for a similar foul on Fletcher and (I think) Gibson didn’t (albeit in a less dangerous area). I agree the referee was quite good last night and in any case it wasn’t his fault Man Utd go packing.
WOW… I am open to opinions, but were some of you watching the same game as I?
Yes, Rafael performed very well and rose to expecations but the yellow cards were fair (and not because of poor refereeing). The first yellow, Rafael won the ball back but grossly exaggerated the ‘clip’ which is why he did not get the free kick (and the same went for Ribery throughout the game who the referee did not put up with for the most part). Rafael was upset and retaliated, a direct yellow. The second yellow – its pretty much a no brainer.
And Zonal Marking, I have seen the downfall of many sites being that they downgrade their quality for the purpose of a faster output. I really hope this site does not take the same path as many others. What we readers are looking for is more detailed analysis. I don’t feel this piece is a true representative of your ability, as there is too much reporting. This is not a shot at you, but I feel you can offer much much more as witnessed by your other articles.
You don’t agree with the analysis – You complain about quality and the ‘path’ of the website.
Coincidence?
I think not.
He didn’t disagree with the analysis. His entire first paragraph talks about the referee and his second talks about his concerns regarding quality. His only statement that directly talks about the nature of the article in question is where he states that he feels that this particular article contains more reporting than he would like.
What was wrong with the piece, and what kind of thing were you looking for?
The game was decided not wholly, but mainly, by a red card. It was hardly a ‘tactical’ victory tonight so any piece isn’t going to be as indepth as some. You can only write about the game you’re given.
Nevertheless the piece highlights:
1) United playing younger, fresher players to play a high pressing game from the front
2) United’s full-backs confronting Bayern’s wingers higher up the pitch
3) Bastuber being exposed and having no protection
4) United defending well with two banks of four when down to ten men
5) Demichelis making it difficult for United by stepping up into midfield
6) United (and other sides) tired from pressing from the outset
7) A lack of attacking options for Ferguson
8 ) A look back to the tactical errors in Munich
If there’s anything I missed, then feel free to point it out, but I’m not really sure what else you can expect after that game.
well said, it is sufficient.
Hey Zonal Marking
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I agree, the 8 points you made are strong points but I feel you could have talked a bit more about Bayern and their selection as well as elaborated on points.
1) Gibson ahead of Scholes and Giggs: beyond striking ability and pressing, why was this chosen? Gibson is no CL expert while the latter two are
2) Thomas Muller behind Ivica Olic: this may seem a normal selection for Bayern, but Van Gaal is not opposed to changing his lineups. I thought you could have talked about how Olic occupies the two centre backs while Muller plays behind (and ahead of Carrick) for shots on target as he likes to have the ball solely at his feet.
3) The pressing was less in second half, but an important detail is that Robben dramatically started shifting in more towards the centre and opened up the options.
4) Tactical selection of LB: You watched the Bayern-Schalke game so you know Badstuber can play LB but he is not natural at it. He was selected because he is older and more conservative in attack then Diego Contentia or Alaba who are true left backs. He also suffers against speedy wingers because of a high centre of gravity (he is like Branislav Ivanović on the left).
5) Fullbacks not involved in the game: beyond pressing, why is it that all 4 fullbacks were not involved in the offensive attack at all?
6) Bastian Schweinsteiger revival: In the first half, he was almost a liability, but he was much more involved in the game and roamed more and dribbled rather than just passing.
7) Hamit Altıntop replacing Robben: what does he add to the game (more defensive option who is a good tackler, great at shots and good at link-up play: Bayern’s Ballack)
All in all, I don’t see all of these points as game-breakers but by elaborating on several of them, I think it would have helped a bit.
While it is true that Diego Armando Contento is a true left back (who in my opinion should have replaced terribly helpless Badstuber by half-time yesterday), David Alaba certainly isn’t. Being the exceptionally gifted player he is at only 17 years, Alaba can of course play every position on the left. But he certainly feels more comfortable in midfield or as left winger. Just watch again the goals Bayern conceeded against Frankfurt a few weeks ago and you know what I mean…
To add a few comments:
I also think that the articles on the tie are a bit to much centered around United:
7) Then you could also mention that Bayern are playing their games this season with a roster of about 23 players, including three goalkeepers and a couple of very young players form their reserves making their first experiences in professional football this season. They have very little options for their back four, with Badstuber being more like a last resort than a first option for the left full back position. Also on the attacking side they have little options with two very good but also tactical not very able wingers and a kind of hold up striker on the bench. All the other players are stronger on the defense. So all in all both teams suffer from similar problems.
Then, did replacing Muller by Gomez make any difference in your opinion? They are two very different kinds of players. Was it that replacement why Ribery had the space to go through the center of the field just before Rafael was sent-off?
Fair points, but I just didn’t think there was that much to say about Bayern. They played the same way in both games against Fiorentina, in the first leg of this tie, and against Schalke at the weekend. There are obvious benefits to the system, but nothing new emerged from this game in that respect, I don’t think. The points you made all perfectly valid but some, like (6) and (7) – I’m not sure what there is to say. For (6) – Schweinsteiger’s a ball-playing midfielder so naturally played better when Bayern had more of the ball. For (7), Robben was a huge injury doubt so it wasn’t a surprise he didn’t last the entire game, and the natural replacement was Altintop, who of course is a slightly better defensive player. You could say the same for the Ribery-Pranjic switch, but I didn’t think it was that relevant.
There’s always an intention to include all the relevant details, but also an acceptance that articles that are too long won’t be read to the end so there’s a need to be selective. The site deals with tactics but it’s primarily for entertainment rather than education, and not every feature of the game can be included.
But feedback is always appreciated, even if it’s sometimes difficult to analyse. The comment here is about a lack of detail, the comment elsewhere was about too much detail considering the referee ’sabotaged’ the match, or something. Maybe I’ve found a happy medium…
I can hardly believe MU made the same mistake AGAIN. I do not think it was a matter of tactics, Bayern were simply outplayed in both first halves of the tie, and Fergie decided to drop back and give up possession both times. As Field Marshal Kutuzov claimed: it is not enough to defeat your enemy, they must be destroyed. With only one holding midfielder at Bayern, it should have been a walkover by keeping possession at midfield (especially that BM were outnumbered)and keep pushing down on the right to provoke the sending off of Badstuber vs. Valencia.
Quick question: have MU ever been knocked off at Old Trafford in the CL?
Yes to your question – the 2003 Champions League against Real Madrid. Also the 2005 Champions League against AC Milan. In both, they were very clearly inferior in possession.
As they were across two legs against Bayern. I know history has a way of making a team seem better than it actually is, because of the mystique of their name. That happened to Milan this year – where some were very shocked by United’s dismantling. If you’d been watching Milan for the past two years, it was no surprise at all.
I think something should be said for the fact that 3-0 down, 3-2 “up”, 2-1 up, 1-0 down…Bayern looked like the same team. They just kept coming. There is an air of quiet superiority about the way they play. Not extravagantly or superfluously the way Barca does, but their midfield is busy…winning the ball, moving the ball around, patiently waiting for the opponent to make a mistake. Outnumbering a team in midfield doesn’t help you if your “distributor” central midfielder is toothless, makes bad passes, and is continually caught in possession.
It’s a bit naive to ignore the mentality behind that style of play. It allows a group of unfancied players (with a couple of ringers) to completely dismantle – both in score, possession, and psychologically – a team that is probably as good or better in every position on the pitch in United. It is very typically “German.” There was a German word that Hiddink used to describe this, after Germany beat Russia in Russia during qualifying – a word to describe the ability to just win.
not to forget, certain game against a certain club from Portugal with a certain manager called Jose or Jorge…forgot his name…Mounho? Mouro? Mauro? Jorge Mauro? Was that his name?
Also in 2004 against Porto with Costina’s last-minute goal.
Think that’s the point Mahdi was making in his sarcastic way
The German word Hiddink used was “Durchschlagskraft”. According to an online dictionary the English word would be “penetrating power”.
That’s the one!
Hey, i just found the website and i’m pretty impressed. However, I am very curious about one thing: how many people are writing here? I got the impression that there’s only one man writing, am I right?
Anyways, great job!
Yep, just the one.
Green and Yellow Scarf ….. £ 5
Centre Forward to sit on the bench……£30,000,000
To hear SAF complain about players surrounding the Referee …. Priceless ….
I would be interested to see what ZM’s view is about Bayern’s first goal. Defence asleep or was it on the cards? Olic seemed to be getting behind the United backline and yet was strangely isolated in the first half. The goal was such a momentum changer. And perhaps the most peculiar thing about the goal, is that it was Carrick who was outmuscled. It was Carrick who was having to make the last challenge.
Had United overcommitted?
I think the key was Ribery. His movement and possession between the Utd defence and midfield pulled them apart. I think Gibson ended up being the weak link.
Haven’t seen any of the matches (ZM allowing me to see parts of them in my head for which I’m grateful) but reading the words of SAF about Bayern players surrounding the referee was indeed priceless, almost felt like making a compilation of youtube-videos featuring ManUtd players surrounding the referee for over 20 years!
Ferguson got it spot on in the first half but I noticed the fragility of the utd side even when they scored two early goals. Rafael was instrumental in getting two early goals and also defended very well neutralising Bayern’s left. However, I noticed the fragility in the inexperience and immaturity in Rafael, and was expecting Fergie to substitute him and Rooney (being much less mobile after 27 minutes) out at half time for Neville and Berbatov/Park as the big match experiences would count in a very tight game.
Overall, I think the german side deserve to go through. The absence of an english side in the last four also reflects that the tactical intelligence (with some individual brilliance of Robben and Schneider) of Mourinho and van Gaal was pivotal against the two english sides.
[...] pass their opponents do get to make. But what happens when you’re too tired to press anymore? Zonal Marking notes that, in fact, three of the four CL losers this week pressed early…and then pooped out [...]
This site was recommended to me by an avid reader.
I must say I’m not impressed by what’s written for this match.
You make it sound as though it were Man Utd vs [insert team here].
I think it’s amazing how the whole match revolves around Man Utd and SAF’s decision, and nothing else. No mention about Bayern’s patience in not panicking, or their iron will or the determination to weather the storm. It’s just Man U did this, shouldn’t have done that, should have done this, blah blah blah.
And for those questioning the red card, kicking out in retaliation and tugging a shirt ARE bookable offences. Man U may get away with bloody murder in the EPL, but in Europe, GENERALLY the refs are not intimidated by SAF.
In my opinion, what ultimately led to MU’s downfall over the two legs is SAF’s wrong tactics. And of course, that “typical German’ team which has only won a meagre 4 European Cups.
Thank you.
To be honest, ZM doesn’t really need ‘defending’, but there are a couple of things I feel the need to point out.
There is more analysis of Manchester United’s tactics because there was more to analyse. Bayern were in a fairly bog standard 4-4-1-1, which turned into a 4-4-2 once Gomez came on and United were down to 10 men. Van Gaal’s Bayern aren’t exactly innovative tactically.
Secondly, Bayern didn’t really ‘weather the storm’, whilst 11-on-11 United pummelled them silly. Having watched both legs as a neutral it seemed pretty clear to me that United lost the tie rather than Bayern winning it.
Third, ZM doesn’t criticise the referee anywhere in the article, that’s all in the comment section. ZM even responds to point out that he analyses tactics, not referees.
Finally, if “MU’s downfall over the two legs is SAF’s wrong tactics” maybe we should spend a minute to look at why? Kind of making your own point redundant there.
well..ultimately though, it was Ferguson and ManU blowing the game. No matter how you turn it, once you lead 3-0, you blow it yourself.
“This site was recommended to me by an avid reader. I must say I’m not impressed by what’s written for this match. You make it sound as though it were Man Utd vs [insert team here]. It’s just Man U did this, shouldn’t have done that, should have done this, blah blah blah.”
And then…
“In my opinion, what ultimately led to MU’s downfall over the two legs is SAF’s wrong tactics.”
So that’s why it focussed on United.
Cheers.
For every team that “blows it” there is a team that took the chances given to them. For me, Bayern looked like scoring again when they had made it 3-1 towards the end of the first half. I think the red card highlighted a (personnel) weakness in the United squad rather than caused it.
I don’t know if you can cleanly separate personnel from tactics, since tactics are at least partially affected by the players available. If most players at the top level are involved in gamesmanship (diving, surrounding the ref, hacking at weak ankles of not fully fit opponents), a tactically astute coach has to be aware of the risks he is taking in his squad selection both in terms of what a player offers in the footballing sense, and his mental strengths and weaknesses as well.
Given the fact that United have become used to, over the past 3 or so years, having at least 2 players capable of consistently winning matches single-handedly, psychologically the players are dependent on having such a player on the pitch. As we have seen, United is merely better than average without such match-winners, and United played like they knew it in the second half. Without the boost of Rooney, and knowing that only one more Bayern goal (always possible with the likes of Robben or Ribery) could lose it for them, Ferguson was faced with a huge dilemma.
Basically, he needed experience to calm down the relatively young squad, but his bench did not physically (or form-wise) provide him with any options that would significantly alter the status-quo of the game in United’s favor. He also didn’t want to damage the psychology of a very promising right back of the future by taking him out in a clear sign of “I changed my mind about trusting you.”
I think the biggest take home about this game is that United had no depth. When you’re competing on multiple fronts, you need to have a group of 6 or 7 bench/role players that you can trust in a big match. As it were, Ferguson felt compelled to risk United’s whole season in playing Rooney because THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE. Rooney was clearly unfit, and van Buyten clearly targeted the ankle. Ferdinand and Vidic would have done the same if the roles were reversed.
From the eyes of a Sun Tzu, Bayern won over the course of the two legs because they were luckier in their injury situation to their marquee players, and as consequence, United were forced to take huge risks with high probability of failure. As they say, it’s easy to fall afoul of fortune with a bad hand.
I’d say it was more than ‘personal’ weakness.
Admittedly I’ve changed my opinion of Bayern after watching the game twice. I don’t think we can know why Ferguson didn’t substitute Rafael as none of us were there.
That gamble in the first leg really came back to bite SAF in the @rse. Had they left Munich with a draw, they’d have walked this tie.
Credit to him for putting fresh legs in for the 2nd leg though, the established XI was looking decidedly wobbly after the last couple of matches and his decision to shake things up was vindicated until the sending off, which effectively ended the threat of United’s high press (which had been gradually receding anyway).
With Rooney destined to go off on the hour, I think Bayern would have nicked it anyway had it stayed 11v11, but the red card certainly hastened United’s demise.
For mine, Robben was frustratingly one-dimensional in his play out on the far right, incessantly cutting into 2-man cover. His wide, wide positioning also blocked Lahm’s path to the overlap, and the right side only started to work when United were down to 10 men. Then he made it all good with an amazing strike. (Had he not scored, and Bayern lost the tie, I think it would have been fair to question why Van Gaal did not stick with Altintop in the more tucked-in role for the start, then used Robben off the bench to chase the game. But that’s academic.)
I thought the referee did a pretty good job. United could have no complaints about Rafael’s second yellow, and while van Bommel was on the edge I did not think he deserved to be sent off. It was nice for a change to see the ref let some of the more robust challenges go and let the game flow a bit. A fussier official could have been pulling the game up far more.
Not taking away from a fine performance from Bayern, but everybody is talking about what United did because early in each leg they had their foot on Bayern’s throat, and they let them off, largely through their own actions.
United had their foot on Bayern’s throat, perhaps. But they didn’t have the strength to choke the life out. People seem to forget that football is a 90 minute game. Starting fast and then losing doesn’t mean you were annihilating a team and then you blew it. It just means you blew your wad too early and didn’t have enough in the tank for the eventual return punch.
There’s one guy who will probably be breathing a massive sigh of relief, Franck Ribery.
Ribery was absolutely terrible in the first half, seemingly having developed a peculiar ability to knock the ball away and run straight into a Manchester United defender for absolutely no reason. He only improved in the second half when he got rid of the ball as soon as soon as humanly possible after he got it, and contributed some histrionics to Rafael’s seconds yellow (which he pretty much deserved anyway, silly boy).
I agree that the red was the real turning point. Once Demichelis stepped out of defence to completely monopolise possesion it was only a matter of time before Bayern scored. With a full compliment of players I’m pretty sure United would have scored at least once more.
I’m not inclined to agree with the ITV Rooney circle jerk though. I mean did he really contribute that much? Much more than Berbatov would have? To my mind his only real contribution was the pass to Gibson for the first goal, which if anything was “Berbatov-esque”. Just saying.
I thought he was doing well until he turned his ankle again. I am a big Berbatov fan but I’ve rarely seen him have a good game against good opposition for United.
Thought it was the early pressing game that caught up with United rather than the spare man making the difference. Like ZM said, it’s worth noting that the three sides in the quarter finals to have pressed like that early on all went on to lose their leads. Pressing is a precise art and needs to be eased off as the match goes on.
That was incredibly painful for a United supporter….what is particularly galling is that we actually performed well this game. The tactics were excellent, with intensive pressing and quick circulation of the ball. The contrast with the 1st leg was huge. Rafael was impressive defensively and going forward but paid for his immaturity. I feel for the young lad, but console myself with the fact that he is a great prospect.
Even upon going down to 10 men we created the better chances; Bayern did v little in open play despite understandably going on to control possession. As ZM says, we essentially just set out 2 banks of 4 to counter their 4-4-2 and they didn’t look like breaking us down. It took a wonder strike from a set-piece to settle the game
Rooney really should have gone off at half-time, no idea why he was still on the pitch when it was clear that those knocks from Van Buyten had taken their toll. Berbatov coming on at half time would also have enabled us to retain posession a bit better, perhaps even avoiding the situation that led to the sending off.
However, no point dwelling on ifs and buts – we ultimately paid the price for our poor performance in the first leg. Well done to Bayern on going through, although you have had your fair share of luck during this campaign!
I thought Rooney showed great immaturity in not relinquishing his position. For a start he was nowhere near 100%, but even when he was eventually subbed, not letting the physio’s at him was pure bravado. With the season in the balance and the prestige and money involved, I am very surprised that Ferguson allowed this behaviour.
The one thing I am speculating, is that Fergie risked Rooney to the limit here, because the elusive 3rd CL trophy is the figure that makes a “great” manager “legendary”. Of course we all know Fergie *is* a legend and always will be, I think the priority by far was the CL, particularly with an arguably weaker side in the semis to take on..
Could not agree more – he was clearly struggling towards the end of the half and definitely should have gone off for Berba – we were effectively playing with 10 men whilst he was on the pitch due to his lack of mobility.
Irresponsible behaviour on his part
Tactically, I would possibly have gone for keeping Valencia and Nani high up and wide to keep on occupying the full backs (and maybe get a second yellow out of Badstuber) whilst making the centre backs wary of the attacks and counters. It would be a bit of a gamble, but not so much the moment Bayern went to a 4-4-2, since the midfield would have one extra man even in the event of one of the centre backs getting forward. If there was a fear that Ribéry would be too much for O’Shea, then Fletcher could have been stationed there and Giggs could have come in for Nani or Valencia. That’s what I thought at the time and that’s what I still think now.
On the other hand, I think Bayern made a mistake of keeping Robben and Ribéry so long in their respective flanks. Robben cannot cross with his right, only cut in, which means that Evra knew what to expect. On the other had, as someone pointed out, with such a wide playing, Lahm couldn’t overlap effectively. On the left Ribéry has a good left foot, but had nobody to overlap and the inside (where O’Shea is stronger) was clogged, so the wings were a bit of a cul-de-sac for Bayern.
One note for the man of the tie: Olić. He was hard working, busy, never gave up a play, strong, fast and with good technique and, as I heard on the comments last night, an “arch-predator”. Bayern have much to thank him for this season.
Can I make a suggestion for an interesting piece, the rise and fall of Berbatov, for Spurs he was a fantastic player but at United he just isnt functioning and all the reasons for him being signed by United are slowly disappearing and I was wondering if someone could highlight the reasons for this as I am sure it’s a tactical rather than mental issue.
He’s not capable of playing the position Ferguson wants him to play at the pace that Ferguson wants him to play. If you haven’t noticed, all of the great United players during Ferguson’s tenure have been above average in terms of physique – able to run a great deal and attack the ball powerfully – Keane, Yorke, Cole, Sheringham, C.Ronaldo, Rooney, Scholes, Giggs, even Beckham and Fletcher. Berbatov is far more dangerous in front of goal than Park, but Park has played more minutes in big games because of his greater positional versatility, as well as his ability perform (very well) defensively in addition to attack.
It says it all that Ferguson stuck with a half-fit Rooney for an hour before conceding that United were at 10 men with him on the pitch. It basically says that, needing to defend a 1/2 goal lead (extra weight of the away goal), putting Berbatov in from the start of the second half was akin to playing with 10. Ouch.
I am surprised by this statement.
‘Their victory in the last round against Fiorentina featured a last-minute goal at home to win the first leg 2-1, and then a 2-3 defeat away from home, with a brilliant Arjen Robben ‘winner’ near the end. ‘
That was a last-minute offside goal, which is not very (as the text implied) glorious. Also remember Fiorentina was shown a red card in that match too. Terrible refereeing to be honest.
However, at least the referee in this game is not as bad as the Bayern-Fio game thought not good either.
I’m not sure what you’re surprised about. It was pointing out the simliarity of the victories; 2-1 at home with a last-minute winner, then 2-3 away with a Robben screamer – surely that was obvious?
It says nothing about it being glorious.
As a Fiorentina fan I’m hardly being biased towards Bayern with regard to that match…
Well, just unhappy with the ‘The did it again’ thing. Apparently, Bayern didn’t score an offside goal in the 1st leg against united. There is no ‘The did it agian!’ emotion for me here. Just it, I am not saying you had any bias in the match analysis.
Sorry, I’ve no idea what you mean. The results of the two legs in both ties were the same, that’s the point. I don’t think there was a claim that every single feature of the the two games were the same.
[...] Tatcical analysis of Man Utd vs Bayern [Zonal Marking] [...]
Having seen a few Bayern games this year, I feel they are stronger when only one of Ribery or Robben plays (which has been quite often given the injury proness of both players). Given United’s tendency to attack down the right (discussed previously on this blog), I thought there would have been a good case for Daniel Pranjic to play on the left of midfield, and for Ribery to be used as an impact sub. A more defensive left sided midfielder could have helped Badstuber nullify the threat of Valencia, (see for instance for the second goal). Although Bayern’s formation is more symmetrical when both star wingers play, I think there is a better balance when one is out injured. Furthermore this idea of symmetry v balance has been an interesting tactical topic for a while now.
Some credit should go to van Gaal who despite playing away and defending a slender lead decided to play with essentially 4 very attacking players. It was a gung ho move that almost backfired, but was rewarded when Ribery and Robben combined for what was effectively the winning goal.
You do have a good case for Pranjic but I feel the opportunity to exploit Gary Neville (who was universally thought to be starting) was too good an opportunity for Van Gaal to miss and therefore the more direct Ribery got his starting berth.
I think even with the inexperience of Rafael who turned out to be the starter, getting a world-class, tricky and experienced winger like Ribery head-on to Rafael was the right decision, if somewhat risky.
van Gaal insists that left-footed full back should play left back and right-footed full backs should play right back. (He even requires left-footed centre backs play at the left side and right-footed on the right side.) For wingers it’s the oppsite – left-foot on the right and right-foot on the left.
I think the purpose is, wingers to cut inside, and full backs to go forward to provide crossings when they receive the ball.
So the problem now is: at the right hand side, Robben prefers to dwell on the ball but Lahm do a lot of forward run; at the left hand side, Ribery often try to do some teamwork but badstuber is not so keen on attacking. Therefore at the right flank, Lahm’s running is wasted since he doesn’t receive the ball often, and when he gets it, normally defenders are already waiting. In the contrary, at the left flank, Ribery can’t find support to his left when he cuts in, and then he has to go to a more central position (sometimes he even went to the right flank and pass the ball to Robben).
Probably put Lahm to the left hand side could do some good, but apparently van Gaal is not interested in this idea.
That’s a good idea. Lahm’s good at providing width on the left, even with him being right footed.
I thought the same thing, that Bayern were more solid with only one of Ribery and Robben on the park. Altintop and Lahm seemed to work together in attack better than Robben and Lahm, so the need for an attacking wide midfielder on that side was lessened.
APFive any idea why Robben and Ribery didn’t swap wings at all? If I was a manager I would have asked them to do once early on just to see if one particular matchup worked in their favour…
I’m also really interested in the assymetrical lineups, I think they can really make the most of a squad’s players, and be tweaked to attack the oppositions weaker points on the field.
Until Robben scored, I would have said that putting him in from the start was (in hindsight) a mistake, but scoring like that tends make up for it.
Don’t think I really agree here. Bayern won the tie because in the 2nd halves of both legs they were the superior team in every department and that’s where most football games are won and lost. They kept the ball better and this started even before the sending off.
True, but I just cannot help think that without the red card, Man U would have weathered the storm (probably hit Bayern on the counter b/c Bayern’s defense certainly doesn’t convince me…) it would have been insanely tense, but I think Man U JUST about would have survived…
Yeah, in a way it was a shame the red card came at that time. It would have been an epic final half hour had it stayed 11v11.
i don’t agree because with 11 vs 10 the game is already lost there. but then also they maintained their 1 goal lead for around 24 mins. hats off to manu players
[...] Manchester United 3-2 Bayern Munich: Arjen Robben does it again “Bayern do it again. Their victory in the last round against Fiorentina featured a last-minute goal at home to win the first leg 2-1, and then a 2-3 defeat away from home, with a brilliant Arjen Robben ‘winner’ near the end. It seemed inevitable when Bayern pulled a goal back before half-time that the same would happen here.” (Zonal Marking) [...]
i was really surprised why SAF didn’t take off rooney after half time. i was expecting neville or o’shea after the half time because i was almost certain that rafael is going to get another yellow card because he is young and offensive.
i think manu lost the tie because of wrong decisions of SAF and we all had to bear the consequences. if only they had that two changes we now would be planning to see manu vs barca final and last year’s revenge.
i cant help not to add few comments here..
1) i seriously think that bayern took the not so good approach with the way they handled rooney knowing that united are leading the tie and are capable of humiliating them.it was very clear the right ankle was the target..does question of ethics arise here or do we say bayern’s players in the 1st half itself knew getting rid of rooney is the way forward..
3) the whole world knew wayne rooney has injured his ankle and might not play the match..SAF took the risk, played him, and bayern targeted him. if i knew my opponent is playing and the fact that he might not be entirely fit or let say..he’s fit to play..would i go and try to inflict injury on his old wounds..does that act makes me a good footballer? let the answers be in pure footballing sense…
2)i’m not entirely sure abt this…but at 1 point of the 1st half, stats on tv showed van bommel had made 5 fouls. 5 fouls in 1st half with only 1 yellow card to show..fair? you should look at the tackles..
I don’t think Bayern were targeting him, I think they fouled him on the right ankle once, coming from behind but clearly in an effort to intercept.
If Ferguson is daft enough to play an injured player then it’s really his fault.
For a more in-depth look at injuries and the cost-benefit ratio using Arsenal’s injuries for simple analysis, click below:
http://www.cerebralfootballer.com/2010/04/you-can-do-it-son/
Going slghtly off the point, but after the match with bayern, one thing was quite evident, Man U now seriously lack quality in midfield (perhaps not for energy, as supplied by fletcher), but for creativity,…..what ZM’s opinion about that…? Furthermore, what could be potential buys for Man u in this department…?
creativity has been a problem since last few seasons…fergie sure recognize that..i dont know maybe thats why anderson for..but he’s awful
Last season Ronaldo was providing that bit of spark from deep positions and Rooney and Tevez were both capable of dropping deep to create something special too. They lack a fourth striker and a creative option in midfield. You can see now why they were keen on swapping Michael Carrick for Luka Modric.
still waiting for ZM’s answer about my query…also, will Angel Di Maria be a good buy, given rumours he’s interested in a move to Man U..?
I think Carrick had to be taken off. He looked completely timid and nervous in the second half and was costing United several turnovers. This has been a common feature of his game during big matches, always needing another player (typically Scholes) to hold his hand in midfield and give him direction. SAF did well to take him off. Unfortunately United have no replacement for him and using Fletcher as a harasser/retainer bogs him down.
Having read all of the articles on this site I think all are well written and have the right amount of detail. well… maybe not this one:
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/01/20/how-many-shots-did-matt-taylor-have-in-boltons-two-games-against-arsenal/
Ha! Though I suppose it did thoroughly deliver what was promised in the title.
@Roland’s post. I feel a lot of these topics were covered in earlier articles covering them again would run the risk of articles becoming too similar to each other.
I only wish there were more articles to read. At the risk of being a slave driver: More Articles!!!
In all seriousness, I 100% appreciate what this site offers and am grateful for every word of content published on it.
Yes, fair point about that article – it was just to test an auto-publish feature I installed on the site
Thanks for the comments, will try and get more articles up.
Hey Zonal Marking
I come to this website – like many others – because the formation debates intellectually stimulate me and I believe your website does of a good job of recognizing this niche. If others say there is “too much detail considering the referee ’sabotaged’ the match,” please re-locate them to a more generic website with little intelligent analysis and high concentrations of fluff, like Goal.com