Burnley tactics
Sean Dyche’s offensive plan was to start with a high tempo and test Manchester United’s defence, then attack mainly through playing long balls for the rest of the game.
Defensively, the Clarets had to conform to a 4-4-2 formation with Danny Ings and Lukas Jutkiewicz pressing on United’s back three.
In possession, Burnley would give the right-back Kieran Trippier the ball as much as possible to let him float long balls directly to Jutkiewicz, the targetman. They had to push their defensive line high up to have enough bodies around Jutkiewicz to compete for second balls. Wide players Scott Arfield and Matthew Taylor had to make runs diagonal runs inside to add pressure on Manchester United’s central defenders.
United have been struggling to play from the back so Dyche’s defensive plan involved the front two pressing on Van Gaal’s back-three whenever they tried to play from the back.
Burnley still had to defend in a 4-4-2 formation with Arfield and Taylor pressing on Manchester United’s wing-backs. In central midfield, David Jones and Dean Marney had to double-pivot just ahead of the defensive line to shut down the spaces that Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney like to occupy.
Manchester United tactics
Louis van Gaal slightly changed the shape of his side as he needed to accommodate both Juan Mata and Angel Di Maria in central midfield. The key change in that area was to invert the central midfield triangle from the one they have used in the opening games. That meant that only Darren Fletcher would operate as a holding midfielder, with Mata and Di Maria pushing on as two advanced central midfielders.
United had to defend from the halfway line in a 3-5-2 formation, with their central midfielders close to the defensive line to deal with Burnley’s knockdowns. Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia had to pick up Burnley’s full-backs, with Mata and Di Maria dropping alongside Fletcher.
Jonny Evans and Tyler Blackett had to converge closer to Phil Jones to make their defensive line narrow and compact in front of the penalty box.
In possession, Blackett and Evans would push out as full-backs looking to initiate play from the back. In central midfield, Di Maria had to make diagonal runs from central midfield towards the edge of the box looking to provide service from that flank while Mata needed to make make forward runs through the middle. Young and Valencia had to provide width in attacks from the flanks.
Key tactical changes
Manchester United needed a win from the game but it was not happening for them. They struggled to play from the back, their defenders were unable to play from the back and their forwards were poor as well.
Van Gaal went for energy in the later stages of the game by introducing Anderson in central midfield and Danny Welbeck to partner Rooney up front. They kept the 3-5-2 formation but those changes added more drive to their side so they finished the game with over two-thirds of possession and more territorial advantage.
Dyche had to contain United’s late charge so he introduced Steven Reid as an extra defensive midfielder. Ashley Barnes came on the left wing to double up with left-back Ben Mee on Valencia and Evans.
The whole Burnley side eventually became a compact unit in their defensive third and they eventually managed to secure their point.
