United’s pressing issues compared to other sides
THERE was a lot to dissect in the fall out from United’s embarrassing 5-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
The result left Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men seventh in the table, and seven points behind the Merseysiders, although the manner of the defeat highlighted a much more significant gap between both sides.
They look fragmented with the ball and disjointed without it, as angrily summarised by Gary Neville on Sky Sports following the match.
“They’ve lost everything today – discipline, organisation. But what stands out in my mind is their organisation around the press. Finding the trigger, not getting there half-hearted.
“City can press, Liverpool can press. United are kidding themselves today that they are a pressing team.
“They are all over the place.” Neville’s critiques, particularly around United’s incoherent press, are spot on.
Their flaws in that regard were painfully exposed on Sunday when midfielders and defenders were too easily played around and torn apart in the lead up to Liverpool’s opening goal.
Pressing issues have been consistent throughout the campaign so far for United, highlighted by the fact that they rank bottom in the Premier League in terms of pressures attempted.
A pressure, as per Statsbomb via FBref is defined as pressing an opponent receiving, carrying or releasing the ball.
Additionally, United also rank bottom in terms of the number of successful pressures made so far this season -- this being the number of times the ball is regained within five seconds of a pressure being made. Obviously in isolation, this metric is flawed somewhat as other factors play a part in pressing such as team style and tactics, as does the amount of time a side has possession of the ball.
That explains Manchester City’s low ranking.
They dominate the ball for large periods meaning that pressing opportunities are few and far between.
Yet, even when the above is adjusted to take into account the measure of possession each team has had, United still rank way down in 18th, above only Arsenal and Burnley.
Therefore whichever way you cut, United’s pressing is a real problem, and it’s just one of a mounting list of things Solskjaer needs to fix quickly if his team are to salvage anything from a season that already looks to be getting away from them.