[Analysis] Manchester United vs. Swansea City (EPL)

Well, that didn't go as expected, did it? But come on, as supporters and learners let's try to discuss a few things we could see during yesterday's match.

• Goals conceded and accountability: let's get these out of the way first. For the first goal, it was Mata who was marking Ki Sung-yueng and then walked away from him. Watching the buildup to the goal, you can see that Mata is actively marking him, aware of his position at all times and staying close to prevent him from receiving a pass. But at one point he just lets him go and drifts towards our left flank, where Herrera and Fletcher were already pressing and where he was probably not needed. A few seconds later, we were all thinking "for fucks sake... not again." Blackett was probably responsible for the second goal. As you can see here, Smalling makes a "good" tactical foul that's supposed to buy you time to re-organize your defense. Blackett gives the ball back (good sportsmanship, lack of cheekiness) and the break is on. Fellaini and Fletcher coordinate to cover Bony and Ki Sung-yueng, respectively. Sigurðsson is Blackett's man. As Montero goes to the byline, our line of defense step back as a unit (to prevent a low cross,) but after he floats the cross Blackett never takes his man back. He just freezes and we concede a goal. One could argue that Bony's run confused him, but he was Fellaini's man. Maybe we can say he lacked the reaction and positional awareness needed to prevent that. For both goals, the words 'we didn't play as a team' uttered by van Gaal seem very appropriate, because as a player you not only have to do your job, but also trust that your team mates will do theirs. In these two goals, Mata and Blackett arguably let the team down.

• Asymmetry on the first half: yesterday, during the first 45 minutes, when we had the ball we didn't play a 3-4-1-2. We were actually asymmetric, looking a bit like this. The idea, I imagine, was at least twofold: first, to overload Swansea's left flank (having in mind their LB is new to the team); and second, to keep the ball away from our own makeshift LB Ashley Young. We can see a striking image of our asymmetric attacking activity during the first half here. After Nani came in and we switched to a more familiar 4-2-3-1, our attacks looked a lot more balanced.

• Fletcher's performance: Darren's performances in the pre-season tour left many of us wondering how he would fare in a proper, top level competition. In short, Fletcher made if very hard for United. In this play early in the game we can see how he doesn't position himself defensively fast enough. Herrera has Sigurðsson in midfield and as United loses possession and Sigurðsson drifts closer to Fletcher, Herrera refuses to be dragged away from his position and instead moves forward to cover the space. Fletcher sees Sigurðsson but only casually jogs in his general direction. The play wasn't particularly dangerous, but Fletcher's attitude wasn't aligned with the aggressive pressing we'd seen in weeks prior. Later on, and after receiving a pass from Chicharito, Darren has several passing options, of which Mata is arguably the best, as he has enough space to connect with Ander and Rooney in an advanced position (he's also asking for the ball.) Instead, Fletcher did this and Swansea got a counter-attack. Please notice how Herrera sprints back as soon as possession is lost. I think that's the spirit we need.

• High defensive line against fast players: last week against Valencia, in possession our defense was very high on the pitch. Yesterday, even when we were one goal down on the first half our defensive line was almost at the half line. We looked like this (please ignore the roles assigned by LineupBuilder.com). Personally, I'm a big fan of this. It allows for more one-twos and quick movements into space (since our lines are closer together), while also forcing the opposition to stand back and travel great lengths with the ball if they want to create a chance. Of course, this doesn't come without risks; that's why our CBs need to avoid panicking and they just can't lose focus. Yesterday, such lack of concentration cost us the second goal.

Well, that's it for today. We still have a long way to go and I don't doubt that van Gaal has many tricks up his sleeve. I hope you found this interesting or at least not completely boring. Have a good one!

PS: If you're interested in knowing a bit more of van Gaal's past work, please do have a look at The van Gaal Dossier, posted a few days ago by u/RFerrer-. The 'animated tactics' are just fantastic to understand the players' roles and responsibilities, and the article is a long but easy read.