SOUTHAMPTON vs. MANCHESTER UNITED

02-SEP-2012 BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE

ST.MARY’S

Robin Van Persie got Manchester United out of trouble with 2 late goals after a fine Southampton performance gave them a 2-1 lead.

Nigel Atkins brought Jamie Ward-Prowse back into midfield for Guily Do Prado and Rickie Lambert played the lone striker role with Adam Lallana and Jason Puncheon on the flanks.

Manchester United’s defensive problems eased with the return to fitness of Rio Ferdinand and this allowed Michael Carrick to move back into midfield alongside Tom Cleverly. Danny Welbeck replaced the injured Ashley Young on the left hand side.  

Formation Match Up

Southampton’s 4-3-3/4-1-4-1 system allowed them to match up against United’s 4-2-3-1. Playing with a defensive midfielder really blunted the threat of Shinji Kagawa. Kagawa has been impressive in his first 2 United matches, but because Southampton matched United man for man in midfield they were able to restrict his influence in the game. Against Everton and Fulham Kagawa had space between the lines because both team played with 2 central midfielders, Southampton had an extra man in midfield with Schnerdalin sitting the deepest and denying Kagawa space when he received the ball. This allowed Ward-Prowse and Steven Davis to play up against Cleverly and Carrick. Southampton were positive and pressed the ball early to disrupt United rhythm. Rickie Lambert’s opening goal was a perfect example of this working, Cleverly played a ball short into Kagawa, Schnerdalin was aggressive, nicked the ball from him and this started the build up to the goal.   

United’s Left Flank

Playing Danny Welbeck from the left was a problem defensively for United. It simply did not work because his natural movement off the ball will be to move in-field; this unbalanced the side because Antonio Valencia held the width on the right hand side. When United had the ball most of their play was bottled necked down the right because they had no one to switch play to down the left from midfield. From the defensive point of view in the transition, Welbeck’s narrow positioning meant there was plenty of space in-front of Patrice Evra down the right hand side and Nathaniel Clyne did not hesitate to get forward and ‘over-load’ Evra with Jason Puncheon.

 Danny Welbeck’s narrow positioning allows space for Nathaniel Clyne to ‘overload’ the right-hand side. 

Crosses Into The Box

Southampton counter-attacked well, breaking into the space behind United’s full-backs to expose the lack of pace and sharpness United had in central defence. They also played direct into Rickie Lambert who was clever at winning free-kicks in the duels with Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, but Southampton looked most dangerous and scored both their goals when they put crosses into the box. Both Evra and Rafael are small full-backs and when the ball was in a wide position the players in the box would pull to the far post to try and expose the full-backs in the air when the cross came into the box. Lambert did this for Southampton’s 1^st goal when he out jumped Rafael and Schnerdalin did the same to Evra (who slipped) to give Southampton a 2-1 lead. The body position of both full-backs for the goals did not help, both were closed facing the ball and Ferguson may consider playing Phil Jones or Chris Smalling at full-back against teams who provide a similar threat. United have now conceded 4 goals from crosses into the box, a worrying trend given the nature of the Premier League.

2^nd Half Subs

The key to turning the game United’s way was the substitutions both managers made. Nani came on for the ineffective Shinji Kagawa, which gave United more width and balance from both flanks. Paul Scholes replaced Tom Cleverly and now United had the ability to switch the ball from side-to-side and attack down both flanks. Chicarito replaced Danny Welbeck and his runs in-behind the Southampton defence helped stretch them. Perhaps it was Atkins substitutions that made the biggest difference. He replaced his front 3 who were causing United problems on the counter-attack and did not freshen up his midfield that tired, dropped deeper and allowed Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick space to control the game and make key passes. United built up enough pressure to get 2 late goals both from corners to win the game. The first from a second phase and the second when Van Persie exploited Southampton’s zonal marking heading in direct from Nani’s cross.  

Conclusion

Southampton deserved most of the credit despite losing the game. United were unbalanced, looked vulnerable to balls in the box, Ferdinand and Vidic lacked sharpness and Southampton restricted United in the midfield zone. What swung the game United’s way were the changes both managers made from the bench and Van Persie taking his chances in open play when they came.