Olympiakos press excellently, Manchester United lack of midfield quality exposed

Manchester United slumped to an embarrassing 2-0 Champions League defeat at Olympiakos in the first leg of their round of 16 tie. The win puts the Greek champions in a solid position to advance to their first Champions League quarterfinal since 1999- the only other time they've achieved that feat.

What will be so concerning for David Moyes's side is that the scoreline was an accurate reflection of the contest- United were dominated by a side that recently sold its leading scorer Kostas Mitroglou to Fulham and whose second leading scorer Javier Saviola was out with an injury.

United's lack of midfield creativity was exposed yet again. Juan Mata is cup tied with Chelsea and therefore ineligible so Moyes opted for two natural wingers in Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia in the wide midfield positions in his 4-2-3-1. Unlike a number of modern wide players that often tuck inside to receive passes between the lines, Young and Valencia keep wide positions and tend to receive the ball near the touch lines. This was an issue for United today because Olympiakos pressed excellently in midfield. Olympiakos also played a 4-2-3-1 so the battle was 3 v. 3 in midfield. Alejandro Dominguez and Giannis Maniatis pressed United's two holding midfielders Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley while Delvin Ndinga sat just in front of the back four and checked the runs of Wayne Rooney- who was playing the #10 off of Robin Van Persie- between the lines. With Young and Valencia maintaining wide positions, it made Ndinga's job tracking the movement of Rooney less difficult than it should have been because he only ever had Rooney to worry about in central areas. Had a player like Shinji Kagawa started on the left he'd have tucked in field towards Rooney to allow United to overload the midfield in Ndinga's central zone.

With Ndinga being allowed to closely track Rooney without having to worry about Young or Valencia tucking inside to receive possession either side of him, United had no forward passing options when they had the ball in deep positions. The pressing of Dominguez and Mantiatis on Cleverley and Carrick forced the two United holding midfielders into making hurried decisions- they could either go backwards or loft hopeful straight balls into the final third. Much has been made about the lack of quality in the middle of midfield for United and this performance will do little to silence those assertions- Carrick got on the ball plenty but wasn't able to dictate the pace of the game and Cleverley made too many poor passes and was dispossessed too frequently. Carrick completed 89 passes but only 12 of those were into the attacking third.

 

Cleverley managed just 8 successful passes in the final third.

 

While these numbers are unimpressive, they weren't helped by United's static shape. Rooney was frequently the only pass for them to aim a forward pass to in the middle of the pitch. With Rooney tightly checked ny Ndinga however, he was frequently forced to drop in deep alongside the two holding midfielders in order to get on the ball, leaving United with no one to link play into Van Persie.

Olympiakos won't get enough credit for how well they pressed in midfield but it shouldn't have been quite so easy for them. Moyes certainly needs to spend money on a deeper midfielder to pair with Carrick but he's also making questionable tactical decisions. The inclusion of Kagawa would have made United more dynamic in the final third. He's good at tucking in from the flanks and positioning himself in dagerous pockets of space and has the quality to unlock a defense with his final ball. United were simply too rigid with Young and Valencia in the squad and were made to pay.

Some thoughts on Manchester City 0-2 Barca

Manchester City's first ever trip to the knockout stages of the Champions League looks like it will be short lived after they were beaten 2-0 at home to Barcelona in their first leg meeting in the round of 16. Barcelona dominated possession in the opening half but neither side created clear cut goalscoring chances and they went into halftime level at 0-0. The games key moment came early in the second half when Martin Demichelis was forced into a last ditch tackle on Lionel Messi after Jesus Navas had given away possession cheaply. Replays suggest Messi may have been just outside of the box but a penalty was given and Demichelis received a deserved red card. Messi dispatched the ensuing penalty. City battled valiantly with ten men, creating a few half chances and nervy moments for the visitors but Barca sealed the win, and likely a spot in the quarterfinals, with a 90th minute goal from the excellent Dani Alves.

Prior to the match the big question was whether Manuel Pellegrini would continue to play the 4-4-2 shape that has seen his side score more goals in all competitions than any team in Europe. He had tried to play 4-4-2 in the group stage of the competition home to Bayern Munich and City were ripped apart. Bayern were able to use the man advantage in midfield their 4-3-3 shape gave them to stretch Yaya Toure and Fernandinho in the center of midfield and City couldn't get a sniff of the ball. Bayern are of course coached by ex Barca manager Pep Guardiola and employ a similar possession-focused 4-3-3 to the one Guardiola began at Barca. While current Barca manager Tato Martino focuses slightly less attention on possession, Barca still average the highest possession percentages in both La Liga and the Champions League and play the same 4-3-3 as Bayern.

Perhaps with that Bayern game in his memory, Pellegrini opted for a more conservative 4-2-3-1 with David Silva playing a #10 role and Fernandinho and Toure playing a double pivot in front of the back four. The shape meant City were competing 3 v. 3 in midfield. Silva matched up against Sergio Busquets, Toure against Cesc Fabregas and Fernandinho against Xavi. City's approach in the first half was similar to the way most teams play Barca. They defended deep with 9 players behind the ball and Negredo on his own up front. Silva dropped deep to defend just in front of Toure and Fernanindho. City did an excellent job keeping their back four and midfield lines compact and limiting the pockets of space where the likes of Iniesta, Fabregas and Xavi thrive. As a result City enjoyed plenty of the ball but couldn't find a way to get any sort of penetration into the City back line.

The down side to the shape was that Negredo was isolated when City won the ball back and they therefore struggled early to get out of their own half before conceding possession back to Barca. Barca pressed immediately when City won the ball back, forcing hopeful passes in towards Negredo that were usually intercepted. However, as the half wore on City enjoyed some spells of possession higher up the pitch. They were at their most dangerous attacking down the flanks and hitting crosses into Negredo who was always the favorite to win aerial challenges over Javier Mascherano and Gerard Pique. City enjoyed a significant height advantage and nearly scored from a free kick on the left edge of the box after Victor Valdes made a mess of Silva's ball into the box.

At halftime, despite being outpossessed, City had enjoyed some half chances and had limited Barca to few chances of their own. Another similar half wouldn't have been the end of the world for either side.

Demichelis's red card was of course the key moment in the match and it stemmed from a moment of carelessness from Navas. City had just won possession at the edge of their own penalty box and looked like they'd be able to spring their own counter after Silva had broken forward cleverly and found Navas on the right wing. Navas could have played a simple ball to Toure in midfield but tried to take on Busquets and Jordi Alba down the wing. He was easily dispossessed, leaving City out of position defensively. Xavi collected possession and played a ball in behind Demichelis and Kompany for Messi. Demichelis's last ditch tackle caught Messi (outside of the box it must be said) and the referee had no choice but to send him off. Perhaps you could argue Demichelis was too slow to track the run of Messi, perhaps Kompany should have stepped forward to drop Messi offsides but the ultimate blame lies with Navas. With City down to ten men he was immediately replaced by Samir Nasri and Joleon Lescott came on for Kolarov.

City moved to a 4-4-1 with Nasri on the right wing and Silva on the left. They defended in two banks of four with Negredo the loan man left up front. They actually played quite well with ten men but there were continuous warning signs down the left side of their defense from Dani Alves. Silva and Nasri played quite narrow both offensively and defensively for logical reasons. Offensively, they needed to take narrow positions to provide a link between Toure-Fernandinho and Negredo up front. Defensively, they had to take up narrow positions so that Toure and Fernandinho wouldn't be overwhelmed in the middle of the pitch. That narrow positioning meant Dani Alves had the right touchline all to himself to break forward. He was put clean through on goal in the 68th but put his effort just wide. He wouldn't make the same mistake in the 90th, dispatching a pass from second half substitute Neymar between the legs of Joe Hart.

Dealing with Busquets will be key if Manchester City hope to dictate tempo

For most of his first season in charge at Manchester City, Manuel Pellegrini has played a 4-4-2 formation, typically employing two of Edin Dzeko, Alvaro Negredo and Segio Aguero up front. More often than not the system has worked to devastating effect. City have scored a remarkable 68 league goals including 6 against Spurs at the Etihad, 5 against Spurs away, 4 against Manchester United and 6 against Arsenal.

However, at times the shape has left City too stretched in the middle of midfield. The most obvious example of Pellegrini's side being made to pay for playing 4-4-2 was in their home Champions League clash in early October against Bayern Munich. Bayern are of course managed by Pep Guardiola- the man who more or less introduced the world to tiki taka possession based football. Guardiola played his standard 4-3-3 that evening meaning Bayern had a 3 v. 2 advantage in the midfield. In order to nullify that advantage, City needed a forward to drop in defensively and pick up Bayern's deepest lying midfielder Philip Lahm. It didn't happen. Aguero partnered Dzeko up front and both stayed high up the pitch when Bayern were in possession. Lahm was always left as the spare man to offer an easy passing option. With the spare midfielder Bayern were able to control possession and dictate the tempo of the game. The score ended 3-1 to Bayern after City made a late flourish in the final quarter of an hour but for 75 minutes it was as one sided a game as you're likely to see between two such expensively assembled sides. Bayern finished the game with 66% possession.

 When Barcelona visit the Etihad this evening, City will be up against a side whose footballing philosophy and personnel are largely attributable to Guardiola. Although current manager Tato Martino is less dogmatic about controlling possession than Guardiola, Barcelona still play a 4-3-3 system centered around ball retention. It's a system that is remarkably similar to the one City faced against Bayern. Therefore it will be vital that Pellegrini learned from that heavy defeat.

Sergio Busquets will play the an almost identical role to Lahm for Barcelona, sitting just in front of his two center backs when Barca are in possession and providing a passing option at all times. He's a remarkably intelligent player and skilled passer- if City allow him to get on the ball without applying any pressure, he'll allow Barca to control possession and dictate tempo.

Pellegrini has a few tactical options in dealing with Busquets. With Sergio Aguero set to miss out due to injury he could opt to partner Stefan Jovetic alongside Negredo in a 4-4-2. Jovetic is an energetic and hardworking player unafraid to put in a defensive shift. He has the work rate and athleticism to drop in and mark Busquets when Barca are in possession, then run past him to join in the attack.

Alternatively, City could play a 4-2-3-1. The obvious lineup with this formation would be David Silva in the #10 role with Fernandinho and Yaya Toure playing a double pivot. While Silva's link up play is excellent in the center attacking midfield role, I don't think that lineup solves the problem of dealing with Busquets when Barca are in possession. Silva is not the type of player that can use his strength and energy to press an opposition deep lying midfielder out of the game- vital if City are to prevent Barca from getting into an attacking rhythm. For me, the better option would be to employ Javi Garcia beside Fernandinho as a double pivot and play Toure high up the pitch in the #10 role. This would mean Toure would be directly matched up against Busquets in midfield. Physically the Ivorian is a nightmare matchup for Busquets- he's faster, more powerful and more athletic. His powerful dribbling high up the pitch could cause all sorts of problems for Barca. Defensively, a midfield trio of Toure, Fernandinho and Javi Garcia is quite a powerful and athletic one. If they stayed compact Barcelona would struggle to find the pockets of space in midfield to play their characteristic quick penetrative passes.

Unlike his predecessor Roberto Mancini, Pellegrini hasn't used Toure in the #10 role so it's unlikely we'll see him there today. However, from a tactical standpoint it might be the right move.

Regardless of how City lineup it'll be vital they don't allow Barca's three man central midfield to boss the game the way Bayern were able to do. The amount of space and time on the ball Busquets is afforded will likely dictate how much possession Barca has and whether they're able to control the tempo of the match. It'll be important for City to unsettle Barca and not allow them to play the type of game they want.

Some thoughts on Newcastle 0-3 Sunderland

Sunderland's third consecutive Tyne-Wear derby win

Gus Poyet was without Lee Cattermole through injury so brought in new signing Leon Bridcutt to anchor the midfield in Sunderland's standard 4-3-3. Jack Colback and Ki played the shuttling box-to-box roles in the middle of midfield.

Alan Pardew played a 4-2-3-1 in Newcastle's first match since the official departure of Yohan Cababye to PSG. Vurnon Anita and Cheick Tiote played at the base of midfield with Tiote sitting deeper in midfield when Newcastle were in possession. Hatem Ben Arfa started in the #10 role off of striker Shola Ameobi. Sammy Ameobi played on the left side of the attacking midfield three, Moussa Sissoko played on the right. Steven Taylor continued to fill in at center back alongside Mike Williamson for the injured Fabricio Coloccini.

The 4-3-3 vs. 4-2-3-1 matchup meant each side's three center midfielders had an obvious direct opponent. Colback lined up with Anita, Ki with Tiote and Bridcutt with Ben Arfa. Sunderland defended with a 4-1-4-1 shape- Bridcutt sat just in front of the back four and tracked the movement of Ben Arfa between the lines. Newcastle defended with two banks of four with Ben Arfa staying high up the pitch alongside Shola Ameobi when Sunderland were in possession. In effect Sunderland defended with 5 across the midfield, Newcastle with 4. The extra defender in midfield meant Sunderland were able to crowd the center of the pitch and limit the space for Ben Arfa in the gaps. However, it also meant Altidore was isolated up front when Poyet's side won the ball back. The American therefore had an important responsibility to provide the initial outlet pass forward and to hold the ball up long enough to bring his midfielders into play. Although Altidore's hold up play hasn't always been strong enough this season, he performed the task excellently today, challenging Newcastle's center backs and winning fouls. Had he not been as strong keeping the ball and allowed Newcastle to quickly win the ball back, Sunderland would have pinned deep in their own half for large portions of the half.

The Sunderland midfield trio was excellent. Bridcutt slowed slowed counters and fouled intelligently when it was necessary while Ki and Colback pressed Tiote and Anita and midfield, denying them time to pick their heads up and find penetrating passes forward. In attack, Ki and Colback were able to sprint in behind the two deep Newcastle midfielders on the break. Colback in particular had a terrific game on both sides of the ball. He showed a tireless work rate to close down the ball in midfield then break forward to join in attacks when Sunderland recovered the ball. He sprinted in behind Anita in midfield to set up Sunderland's second goal. For the third he tackled the ball from Tiote then burst forward in front of Borini to receive a pass and finish the move on his own. He pressed high up the field in the second half to win a tackle just outside Newcastle's penalty area to set up Altidore with a 1 v. 1 with Tim Krul but the striker couldn't finish. Colback finished the game with an impressive 4 tackles and 3 interceptions.

 Newcastle introduced Luuk De Jong for Sammy Ameobi at halftime and went to 4-4-2. They played a bit more direct and looked to get on the end of Ameobi knock downs. Defensively they pressed higher up the pitch and the contest became more stretched. Sunderland looked a consistent threat on the counter, taking advantage of space in behind the two Newcastle midfielders when they broke forward.

Newcastle desperately missed the creativity Cabaye brings to midfield. The've failed to score in their first two games without the Frenchman. Newcastle's other center midfield options Sissoko, Tiote, Anita and Marveaux all rely more on their physical attributes than technique and creativity. Ben Arfa is a creative and technical player who can play as a #10 but he's less consistent than Cabaye and, for all his flair, he often fails to provide substance.