Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Michael Carrick is evolving Man Utd with every game, but the tradition of the club is going nowhere, as Atletico can attest to.
Man Utd had their best performance of the pre-season so far in a dominant 2-1 win against Atletico, where the scoreline doesn’t do justice to the performance.
It was an elite team display, full of pressing from the front, playing out from the back, camping in the opponent’s box, and creating chances at will.
However, that doesn’t mean that Michael Carrick has relinquished the DNA of the club in the process. It’s the best of both worlds now.
Manchester United v Atletico de Madrid - Pre-Season Friendly
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Mason Mount win rate comparison
Mason Mount win rate comparison
Man Utd under Michael Carrick are best of both worlds
After achieving instant results and qualifying for the Champions League last season by playing a simple style of mid-block and counter, change was needed this year.
That style raises the floor, but to raise the ceiling, layers of front-footed football needed to be added.
The first layer was visible against Rosenborg, where United played out from the back, created central overloads, and created chances against a team sitting back.
The next came against Atletico Madrid, where the counter-pressing was a treat to watch, as pressing triggers and hot zones were expertly identified to suffocate last year’s UCL semi-finalists.
Both of these qualities are necessary for a team to boss games and raise the ceiling, but equally as important is what United excelled at last season.
That is the tradition of the club, which is good old counter-attacking football to catch the opponent scrambled and sleeping.
If Atletico Madrid’s David Hancko is to be believed, United’s transition pedigree still strikes fear in the hearts of opponents despite this evolution.
Atletico Madrid felt the force of Man Utd
It’s true that United dominated and suffocated Atletico, but Hancko said after the game that his team was wary of Carrick’s counter-attacking threat.
Andrey Santos and Mason Mount split
Andrey Santos and Mason Mount split
He said: “Yeah, you could see that it is a great team, especially in attack. They have a lot of speed, so you need to be really careful about that. Of course, when you want to press them, you leave a lot of space behind, so that was a really, really big challenge for us.”
The best thing about having multiple ways to attack is that it opens up spaces on the pitch. Because Atletico were reluctant to press due to United’s transition threat, Mason Mount and Andrey Santos had time on the ball to pick their passes.
With technical midfielders, time and space on the ball are worth their weight in gold, and Carrick’s speedy attackers provide ample amounts of either.
The transition threat is now the factor that dictates the team’s new layers, and the result is a tactical setup that can surgically break through a defence or knock you out with a single punch.