How and where: van Gaal’s philosophy lost United the game
At the end it was a comfortable Tottenham win, but for most parts Spurs and United were evenly matched. Eventually it was the managers’ decisions on either touchline that decided the game. Van Gaal’s mysterious substitutions were countered by Poch’s proactive yet fundamental changes in the style.
1. First half of chess
A half an hour delay clearly didn’t make much of a difference as both teams came out extremely cautious, well-shaped and well-organized but not with much gung-ho. Both teams and managers appeared to know their strenghts and weaknesses as they circled around in the ring. Manchester United started strongly, playing almost the entire first 20 odd minutes in the Tottenham half, but only around the box. United’s two shots in the first 10 minutes, which were eventually their only two shots in the first half, came from outside the box. While United looked on the frontfoot in the first 20 minutes, Spurs never looked threatened. And possibly that is what resulted in the shift in momentum. With United looking out of ideas even when dominating the ball, Spurs decided to win the ball a little higher, instead of falling further back and thus launch attacks. It all fell in place when an Eriksen floater from the right found Erik Lamela free on the left but the Argentine headed wide. But that, and a Harry Kane blocked shot aside, the first half was an extremely cagey affair. Neither goalkeeper was called into action and the half was a pretty dull affair. Largely due to the fact that Louis van Gaal’s approach in games of this magnitude is simple- Expect the opponent to make an error or just shut up shop and pray. While neither worked on the night, he did something even stranger.
2. The Ashley Young philosophy
When Manchester United spent north of 50 million pounds for Martial it was expected that the left-sided forward would eventually slot in as centre forward if and when Wayne Rooney would not be available. Summer turned to autumn, to winter, to spring and approaches another summer but Martial still can’t convince LvG he’s a #9. Why else would the Dutchman introduce Ashley Young, a winger by trade, and play him centre forward, despite the presence of Martial on the pitch? Ashley Young had 0 shots but 1 blocked shot in his 45-minute near-invisible cameo. Not sure if van Gaal is the one to blame or Young, but from the evidence of the second half it was definitely uncalled for. Why not play Young on the left and Martial through the middle? Why not play the quicker Lingard wide and the slower yet smarter Juan Mata through the centre? Questions only van Gaal would know answers to. To Mauricio Pochettino’s questions in the second half however, van Gaal had no answers.
(Man United formation for the second half)
3. Spurs' shoot-at-sight second half
After four futile shooting attempts in the first half, Pochettino sent out his men with a more direct approach and more direct shooting. The desire and a bit of desperation was starting to show with Tottenham pulling the trigger from random angles. Eriksen and Rose were the leaders of the wayward-shooting pack from outside the box. 6 of the 12 shots taken in the second half by the North London side came from 18 yards or further out. The frivolous shooting started to distort the near-perfect defensive shape Man United had maintained all game, and gaps started to appear in their armoury. A Danny Rose low-drilled cross took a deflection off Mata and needed to be saved by De Gea.
That was followed by a Christian Eriksen volley from range that flew not-so-far from goal. The warning bells only grew louder. The panic started to percolate across the backline, and in the 70th minute the deadlock was eventually broken when Christian Eriksen found Delle Alli with a sumptuous cross and the teenager made no mistake slotting home the opener. More shooting followed, first by Lamela and then by Kane. Two goals followed soon after, and Tottenham lived to fight another day in the title race. For van Gaal and his men however, the Champions League dreams waned a little more.
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