Analysis of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Man United tactics after 3-0 defeat to Barcelona

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  • Individual errors and some quite simply brilliant play from Lionel Messi ended Manchester United‘s Champions League dreams as Barcelona enjoyed a convincing 3-0 win at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night.

    Messi got the breakthrough in the 16th minute to put his side firmly in the driving seat of the quarter-final second leg before a howler from David De Gea handed him a second four minutes later.

    Philippe Coutinho’s effort from range on the hour mark sealed progress to the semi-finals for the Catalans with a 4-0 aggregate score.

    Here, we analyse Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tactical input.

    BASIC STATS

    Goals – 0

    Shots – 9

    Shots on target – 3

    Goals conceded – 3

    Possession – 34%

    Dribbles – 4

    Tackles – 17

    TACTICAL TALKING POINT

    Diamond system

    United needed to maintain a compact shape away to Barcelona but they also had to pose a threat in attack. Solskjaer had the right idea when he adopted a 4-4-2 diamond system and for the opening 10 minutes or so, Barcelona were second best.

    The Catalans struggled to cope with the pace of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial up front while Scott McTominay and Fred had started well, giving United’s midfield plenty of mobility.

    After Messi took control – aided by a self-destructive streak from United – Barca settled nicely and began to stretch the away side at will, exposing the narrow back-line.

    GOT RIGHT

    Changes

    Apart from his initial set-up, Solskjaer made the right call when he changed it entirely early in the second half after Coutinho’s strike put the game firmly beyond United’s reach. He went into damage-limitation mode, switching to a back five and under the circumstances, it was perfectly understandable.

    The Norwegian didn’t get carried away by ludicrous hopes of a miraculous four-goal recovery. Even Sir Alex Ferguson was guilty of such misguided thoughts in the past. On one occasion it led to a 6-1 thumping in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford. Solskjaer at least spared United’s fans further humiliation.

    GOT WRONG

    Team selection

    There was little wrong with Solskjaer’s set-up but perhaps he put a little too much faith in a couple of players, failing to appreciate their limitations. Ashley Young shouldn’t be a United player anymore, let alone starting the Champions League quarter-final away to Barcelona at left-back while sporting the captain’s armband. Diogo Dalot may have been a better option with Luke Shaw suspended.

    But that still leaves Victor Lindelof playing at right-back. So there’s not too much for Solskjaer to work with. Four of United’s back five started in Basel when they were knocked out of the group stages in 2011. Eight years on, it’s farcical that the defensive personnel hasn’t been significantly improved. That speaks volumes of the task the United boss has on his hands.

    VERDICT

    It’s hard to point fingers at Solskjaer, even after such a resounding defeat. You can’t fault the system he went with although there were one or two question marks over his team selection. Individual errors ultimately cost United. What else could Solskjaer have done? Have better players, maybe?

    Rating 5/10

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