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Manchester United under Ralf Rangnick is a very interesting prospect right now. The German manager has managed a number of German clubs in his career so far and has also been part of higher management roles.
Ralf Rangnick is the man behind encouraging and developing a lot of young managers including current Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel. The Manchester United interim manager is believed to have one of the best tactical minds in football.
Ralf Rangnick's Manchester United will be tactically sound
Manchester United have been struggling this season which eventually led to the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. One of the major reasons for that to happen was the tactical flaws in the club's game-play.
Under Ralf Rangnick, the one thing assured is that Manchester United will surely have a defined style of play and a thorough tactical approach. In fact, this will also result in multiple changes in the strategy for the Red Devils.
Here, we take a look at the top tactical changes we could possibly see with Ralf Rangnick managing the Premier League giants.
#5 Different formations
Manchester United, under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, were used to playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation more often than not. The Norwegian manager seldom opted to change it and even when they did change to a 3-4-1-2, the results did not turn around drastically.
Ralf Rangnick is a massive admirer of the 4-2-2-2 formation which involves using wingers/playmakers to play more centrally and drifting inside time and again. He also fancies the 4-3-3 formation with a defensive midfielder and two central midfielders. The German is also capable of using the 4-4-2 diamond formation if needed.
Of course, the formation will depend upon the opposition and the players' availability but it will help Manchester United to become unpredictable. With Ralf Rangnick's experience, the Red Devils will certainly have a specific identity to their game.
#4 More linkup play
Irrespective of the formation used by Ralf Rangnick, it is assured that the German will work on building the chemistry between the Manchester United players. The former RB Leipzig manager is a strong believer that a coach needs to have a clear plan with the players he possesses.
Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United players lacked that tuning and linkup, which can be resolved under the new interim manager. Ralf Rangnick likes his players to stay more compact and close, which would instigate a lot of one-twos in the opposition half.
Players like Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford can be really lethal with better linkup play. With clinical finishers like Mason Greenwood, Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani in the team, Manchester United will be an exciting attacking team under Ralf Rangnick.
#3 Less reliant on crosses
Manchester United under Ralf Rangnick will certainly be a team with different avenues to score. With the German inclined to set his teams to attack more centrally, the unpredictability of United's game play will surely increase.
The Red Devils have often been criticized for being too monotonous with their approach. They have used their wide players to provide crosses on a regular basis without adding a new dimension to their game-style. This has made it easier for the opposition to defend and grind out results.
Ralf Rangnick's teams are known to be unpredictable with their attacking approach. A long ball from the back could instigate an attack and so could a midfielder by creating it in the final third.
The German uses his full-backs to act as wingers when his wide players go central, making it difficult for opposition defenders to mark and sustain the attack. With him as their manager, Manchester United will be a dynamic team in attack.
#2 Direct football
Manchester United fans were habituated to have witnessed direct and attacking football from their club under the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson. Ever since the Scotsman retired, United's game-play has certainly not been close to as free-flowing it used to be.
Under interim manager Ralf Rangnick that directness is very likely to be back. The German dislikes his players making sideways or back passes. Manchester United's players have been guilty of making a lot of passes back to the defenders or to the players on the side.
This will be totally eliminated under the reign of Ralf Rangnick. He will instigate his players to make long passes where his strikers will be waiting to make a run on the shoulder of the opposition defense. He definitely encourages his players to be more creative and bold, which is much needed at Manchester United this season.
#1 Gegenpressing
Ralf Rangnick is the inventor of the tactic known as 'Gegenpressing'. The strategy involves pressing the opposition as soon as the ball is lost from possession, even if it means pressing intensely in the opposition's half.
One of the teams best executing this tactic is Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. The former Dortmund manager was inspired by Ralf Rangnick's Hoffenheim when they beat the Black and Yellows 4-1 in 2008.
Since then, Klopp has been an effective user of Gegenpressing and we know how effective it has been for Liverpool over the past few seasons.
Manchester United will be using the same system to win the ball back and create pressure on the opposition. The Red Devils are not the best pressers in the Premier League but under Ralf Rangnick that is bound to change.
