The narratives were neatly packaged before Manchester United’s trip to Southampton.
Would United be picked off in possession like they were against Liverpool? Who would start in the centre of midfield? Would Erik ten Hag navigate his side away from choppy waters after just one point in his opening three games?
A 3-0 victory was enough to silence the critics, even if promoted Southampton dominated play for the opening half an hour. United’s attacking players grabbed the headlines, but their approach in possession — from both full-backs — caught the eye.
After a difficult afternoon against Liverpool, Casemiro was replaced by Christian Eriksen in midfield to offer stronger technical attributes in the middle of the park. However, Eriksen did not always stay close to Kobbie Mainoo in United’s build-up — often pulling into wide areas to offer an outlet outside Southampton’s 4-4-2 defensive unit.
That left Mainoo to patrol the middle of the pitch, but United’s build-up play was helped by Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui taking turns to drift inside from full-back and support Mainoo in progressing the ball forward.
This was in stark contrast to United’s naive approach in possession against Liverpool, where too many players were ahead of the ball when they looked to build out. After his side had punished United by scoring three goals from high regains and transitional moments, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot outlined the plan to expose that weakness in his post-match interview.
“Their full-backs, nine out of 10 times, are really high and then Casemiro comes in between,” said Slot. “So if you pick the ball and keep Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah high, then you are constantly in a one-to-one situation.”
While United will still look to overload the opposition defensive line with both full-backs pushing forward — in what resembles a 3-1-6 at times — there was a greater foundation in their build-up structure as they looked to avoid a similar outcome to their previous Premier League game.
It is not uncommon to see a designated full-back drift inside to support the midfield in modern football, and it is a role that Dalot has often undertaken under Ten Hag. However, seeing both full-backs rotate their positioning into central areas felt more rare.
Sometimes, the pair would simply be conventional full-backs holding their width, but the examples below show Mazraoui drifting inside to form a 3-2 build-up structure, with Dalot tucking in next to centre-back Lisandro Martinez…
… but Dalot would also drift alongside Mainoo, with Mazraoui staying in the back line.
There was a fluidity to United’s build-up, with Mainoo dropping into left-back areas to maintain that 3-2 structure while Dalot pushed on ahead of him — this time alongside Eriksen.
The second half saw multiple rotations at once. This time, Eriksen pulled into the left-back position while Mazraoui joined Mainoo inside, allowing Dalot to take up a narrow position ahead of the ball to receive a pass between Southampton’s midfield and defensive lines.
“We have some new players who we have to integrate into the team and that needs time to recognise timings and get in the right position,” Ten Hag said after the game.
“They (Dalot and Mazraoui) are capable of doing that, and when that works better we will have a better in-possession game but also take more control when we lose the ball.”
Dalot’s one-v-one defending could still be refined — he gave away a penalty with a clumsy challenge on 18-year-old Tyler Dibling — but the Portugal international has been one of United’s best performers in the opening four games of the campaign.
No player attempted more passes than Dalot on Saturday afternoon and the 25-year-old showed his versatility, too. Having played the majority of the game at left-back, he switched to right-back, where he bagged an assist by reaching the byline and cutting the ball back for Alejandro Garnacho.
Alejandro Garnacho makes it 3-0 and Man Utd finish with a flourish 🔥
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/bJtEjE4twv
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 14, 2024
Meanwhile, Mazraoui has made a brilliant start to life in Manchester and has already shown his technical ability to retain possession in tight spaces. The Moroccan’s calmness on the ball has helped unleash the attacking threat of Amad on United’s right flank.
Saturday was not the first time Mazraoui has drifted into half-space areas when United look to build out from the back, as can be seen in their clash with Liverpool…
… but rather than the centre-backs split, a midfielder drop in (Casemiro, in the example above), and another full-back stay high, United’s build-up structure was qualitatively different as they shuffled the back line along depending on which side the ball was on.
This shift seemed to ensure United had a stronger ‘rest defence’ (referring to a team’s positioning when in possession to be prepared to defend if the ball is lost). It also served to pin the opposition wide players and make space for the wingers to isolate their full-back one-v-one — another common approach in modern football.
This was often the case on United’s right, as Mazraoui frequently kept Ben Brereton Diaz inside, allowing Amad to come onto the ball under less pressure.
While Southampton did give United a scare in the first half, there will be tougher tests to come for Ten Hag’s side in the coming weeks. When Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are fit, the fight for left-back will be fierce, but their fit full-backs have offered a lot to the team’s structure at the start of this season.
The addition of Manuel Ugarte to United’s midfield means that their build-up structure is unlikely to remain the same as it was on Saturday afternoon, but the versatility of both full-backs gives them an option to create a stronger base when they are in possession.
(Top photo: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
