Tactical Draw

In my analysis of the Manchester derby, I had noted that Manchester United entered the derby with a squad that was more stable on paper and had more options available to them compared to Manchester City. United were only missing Luke Shaw and Paddy McNair while City were missing Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy (maybe someone else too but I have forgotten the name of the player or if indeed they had one or two more absentees). I knew for certain David De Gea, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney would start. There could be changes in the other positions. It would be between Matteo Darmian and Antonio Valencia at right back, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind at left back, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Michael Carrick in centre midfield, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata on the right wing and Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini as the attacking midfielder. I felt only at right wing was it about 80-90% certain that Mata would start. For the other positions, it was more 50-50 in terms of selection. In the end, Valencia was selected at right back, Rojo at left back, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger in centre midfield, Mata as expected on the right wing and Herrera as attacking midfielder.

I was delighted that especially Aguero was missing as he has been a thorn in the sight of United fans since he joined City. He almost always finds the net against United. Silva would also be a big miss as I rate him higher than Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne. Going into the derby, I knew City had quality but I felt this match would be their first real test of squad depth. They had trashed Bournemouth at home the previous Saturday but with all due respect, the newly promoted side has struggled this season and it was no surprise. City then beat Sevilla in the Champions League but had to struggle for it. If that much space was afforded to De Bruyne, he would certainly make no mistake to score the winner. Sterling was easily handled by United and especially Valencia last season in both matches against Liverpool so it was wise to start with the Ecuadorian. Moreover, Darmian had a nightmare against Arsenal so that counted against the Italian. I had watched De Bruyne in some matches last season for Wolfsburg. He is good but not good enough for the price that City had to pay to sign him. I felt he was over-rated. Wilfried Bony, who was standing in for Aguero, is a different type of player and this would be the first big and real test for him. He did well at Swansea City but replicating that form for City is a different matter after all this is not the City of old, this is the new mega bucks City with much higher expectations and ambitions.

I had thought that Louis Van Gaal might try and replicate the same strategy that he used last season to get a resounding win against City at Old Trafford which would mean the inclusion of Blind at left back and Fellaini supporting Rooney but that was not to be. Van Gaal chose to pick based on form. Since he has taken charge, Van Gaal has not shown much tendency in changing his starting selection as long as it is doing well and they stay injury or suspension-free which is a contrast to Sir Alex who would save players for certain matches and rotate to use players with characteristics best suited to take on certain opponents. Different managers, different methods. As long as we win, all is well haha.

On to the match then, from the start, it was tight, tense and cautious. There was an air of fear, the fear of losing, the fear of making a mistake. No-one wanted to lose. In the first half, City had 4 attempts on goal and I can't even remember one. The only one I remembered was a scuffed effort from Yaya Toure. They had more corners too and had the taller, physically bigger players to cause more of a threat but none of the corners caused much of a threat. Sterling was well-shackled by Valencia and De Bruyne likewise by Rojo. City found it tough to cope with Martial who had to be fouled to be taken down. United had 0 attempts on goal and 0 shots on goal, the latter is similar of City. It was irritating to see Mata and Schweinsteiger choosing to needle a ball through instead of going for goal from range when in space. Take a shot! It could go over, go wide, hit the post, hit the bar, it might go into the back of the net cleanly or via a deflection, the keeper might fumble it, the keeper might tip it out for a corner or at the very least the keeper would save it but at least take a shot!

It was even stevens in the first half. Some would argue that United shaded it while others felt that City shaded it. I felt it was even with neither side dominating and both defences on top. Neither Joe Hart nor David De Gea were troubled and who had thought of that at the start of the match. United started the second half better and had greater supremacy in the game but once again failed to capitalise on it. They hardly created anything of note and hardly threatened Hart in goal. Chris Smalling came close with a header that went agonisingly wide, Schneiderlin threw himself at it but failed to connect. There were calls for a penalty as well when Herrera was fouled by Sterling but the referee awarded a corner. It did look to me like it was a penalty. Lingard who came on as a substitute produced a magnificient volley with the ball dropped over his shoulder by Martial but his effort crashed against the crossbar. Smalling then had a snap shot that was palmed wide by Hart. These were the only chances created. At the other end, the closest City got to scoring was when Nicolas Otamendi was just about blocked out by Rooney as he came close to meeting a free kick by Aleksandar Kolarov. It was fair to say that United dominated the second half but didn't take enough shots at goal or create enough chances to score and win.

Van Gaal may argue that Smalling should have taken at least one of the chances that came his way but those were created through set pieces not through open play. The first one was far from a free header and the second one he had to take it quickly. Maybe the only criticism would be that he should have hit the second chance harder. Lingard's was something that was created out of nothing. In the end it was 0-0 draw, a bore draw for neutrals but an irritating one for United. Both defences came out on top. It was doubly annoying because City were there for the taking but United didn't take the chance. Any victory against a foe or hated rival is worth many times more.

What we witnessed yesterday was the other side of Van Gaal's methodical football. It frustrates and annoys when victory is not achieved especially in a match like the one yesterday when we knew United could have won it if they had pushed harder and sustained the pressure for longer. To be fair, perhaps in the later parts of the match, the players were getting tired as most of them had played in Moscow in midweek. Just like it was in Moscow, United hardly created much in the first half and got better in the second half and again when in supremacy, they can't sustain the pressure long enough to score more than one goal. In yesterday's case, they couldn't even get a goal. It was also irritating to see players looking to try and thread a beautiful pass through instead of taking the risk and going for goal themselves. It's things like this that leads a man or woman to pull his or her hair and go mental. There were instances in the second half where good crosses were put in but except for Rooney there was no-one else in the box. No-one was making a late run into the box, no-one was anticipating for the cross to come to them. Contrast that to the late run made by Herrera to score United's second against Everton last Saturday. More of the latter please!

I felt the choice of substitutions was wrong as well. Of course, if Lingard had scored and United had won, it would be heralded as a great substitution. If he had scored, maybe he would have played with greater confidence but the truth was he didn't make much of an impact. I am not Van Gaal or a qualified coach for that matter but if I may give my 2 cents worth as a fan, I would have brought on Fellaini earlier when we were in the ascendancy in place of Herrera not Schweinsteiger. Get him to play closer to the goal, be a handful for City's defenders to allow Rooney and Martial more space to operate in. Keep Mata on to deliver crosses for Fellaini. It worked last season, it could have worked again yesterday. Schweinsteiger can't last 90 minutes anymore so I would have brought Carrick on later. One bad game doesn't make Carrick into a poor player. Another option would be to bring on Memphis for Herrera, put him on the left and push Martial to play on the shoulders of City's defenders. Get Rooney to drop deep to play the ball in for Martial or Memphis from the left. That's just my 2 cents worth though. I can't say for sure if those changes were made, we would have won but you never know.

In my opinion, I felt Rojo was our Man Of The Match. He didn't put a foot or head wrong throughout the match. He was solid in his defending and proved my opinion of De Bruyne right. He even faced up to Toure and won the battle in one instance. The partnership of Smalling-Jones is blossoming and long may it continue (touchwood!). With their respective injury records, it would be wise of Van Gaal to rest one or both against Middlesbrough in the League Cup. Valencia had a great game at right back too. He kept Sterling quiet and was a threat going forward but unfortunately picked up an injury which should present a chance for Darmian to get back in the first team. Martial was our greatest threat going forward but I feel the players around him were hanging out too much. No-one was making off the ball runs into space to pull the opposition defenders apart for him to play them through or to create space for him to go for goal himself.

Van Gaal declared his satisfaction with United's display. In terms of effort, commitment and defensive display, I would agree with him but in terms of creating chances I wouldn't agree with him. As fans, we have to accept that United now play a methodical style of football which is perhaps better suited to European games and could serve us better in Europe. When we win in England, things are fine but this style can frustrate when we drop points because when the team starts playing with greater intensity and pace, it shows what they are capable of and what could have been possible, if only they played like that from the start or throughout the match. I do wonder in those times, what it would be like if Ryan Giggs was in-charge instead, but then again no-one has seen the future and there is no guarantee that Giggs would do as well as he did as a player. Not every ex-player or club legend will turn out to be like Pep Guardiola. It can be frustrating but keep calm and keep getting behind the team. Next we have got a home cup tie against Middlesbrough. In the last match against Ipswich Town, Van Gaal fielded a strong line-up. I hope Van Gaal would rotate his team against Middlesbrough but keep it strong enough to win and go through to the next round.