Manchester United tactics
Wayne Rooney pulled up in training and Louis van Gaal felt Anthony Martial was not yet ready to start, so the United boss turned to Marouane Fellaini as the centre forward in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Fellaini’s height allowed United to mix their game up slightly, but the emphasis was still on patiently working the ball and pinning the opposition before penetrating.
Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger started as the central midfielders, collecting the ball from the defenders to initiate attacks. Carrick was the main holding midfielder and was responsible for recycling possession at the base of midfield and feeding the attacking midfielders as a deep-lying playmaker. Schweinsteiger frequently pushed forward to help the attacking midfielders.
Juan Mata drifted infield from the right flank to influence the game between the lines alongside Ander Herrera. Memphis Depay added an extra dimension to United’s attack with his ability to commit defenders.
He hugged the touchline on the left flank, looking to isolate Nathaniel Clyne before cutting inside to his right foot. The Dutch winger also linked up with Luke Shaw to provide Fellaini with crosses from that flank.
Fellaini led the defending in Liverpool’s half, with Herrera working just behind the big Belgian. Schweinsteiger dropped to double-pivot with Carrick, while Memphis and Mata pressed Liverpool’s full-backs.
Liverpool tactics
Brendan Rodgers could not call upon his chief creative player, Philippe Coutinho, due to suspension. The Reds boss was also missing the services of a couple of key players because of injuries, so he seemed happy to settle for a point. Rodgers set his side up to frustrate the home side by defending deep in numbers.
Liverpool started in a 4-5-1 formation, with Christian Benteke leading the defending on the halfway line. The five in midfield dropped deep to squeeze the space between the lines, which United’s attacking midfielders, like Mata and Herrera, like to exploit.
James Milner and Emre Can engaged United’s holding midfielders, while Lucas Leiva policed the space just in front of the back-four.Roberto Firmino and Danny Ings tracked back with United’s full-backs in order to cut the service to Fellaini.
The back-four was spread across the 18-yard box to shut the channels, thereby forcing Van Gaal’s men out wide.
When in possession, Liverpool had to push play into the offensive half by going directly to Benteke, before the midfielders charged forward to support those attacks. Firmino and Ings drifted inside as wide forwards to support Benteke.
Emre Can also broke forward, while Milner and Lucas remained to protect the defenders. The full-backs cautiously pushed into the middle-third and back to keep enough bodies behind the ball.
Key tactical changes
The first-half was terrible to watch for the fans because Liverpool impressively kept their shape and negated United’s offensive threat, but the Reds failed to threaten the hosts at the other end because they could not retain the ball for long enough.
A frustrated Van Gaal turned to Ashley Young in what proved to be the move of the game. Young’s introduction gave Clyne a bigger challenge because the right-back had easily contained Memphis’ inward runs, but Young threatened either way by also darting to the by-line and providing crosses. United’s first goal unsurprisingly came from Young’s contribution.
Rodgers’ men trailed 2-0 in the last 15 minutes so they tried to chase the game in a more attacking 4-3-3 formation. The full-backs pushed higher up the field to supply Benteke with crosses, Can and Milner both pushed forward as advanced central midfielders, while Divock Origi tried to run at United’s defenders from the left flank.
Shaw was slow with his recovery runs when Liverpool transitioned into attack, so Jordon Ibe came on as a natural right winger to exploit the space the left-back left behind.
United dropped deeper to protect their lead, with the pacy Martial coming on as a centre forward to stretch play by making runs behind Liverpool’s high defensive line.
Those changes saw Liverpool push play into the offensive half and enjoy some periods of sustained pressure but the Reds struggled to really create enough good chances.
