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Manchester United marked the end of the International break as they welcomed Watford to Old Trafford. There has been a significant change to the club set up with Solskjaer now the permanent manager of the Red Devils. The mood at Old Trafford, as expected, was buoyant. However, the game was far from a walk in the park for the Norwegian.
Watford were 8th in the table, 15 points behind United, but had proved to be a tricky customer in the past. The Norwegian continued with De Gea in goal, with Young, Smalling, Jones, and Shaw making up the back four. Herrera, Pogba, and Matic made up the midfield, while the attack comprised of Mata, Martial, and Rashford.
The away team started the game on the top and threatened to score in the opening stages. However, United held on and went on to score themselves in the 28th minute, through Marcus Rashford.
The game was an open-ended affair and both teams looked like scoring. In the 72nd minute, Martial doubled the score, before Watford got one back in the 90th minute through Doucoure. However, United held on to win the game.
On a day when United were far from their best, these 5 tactics from their Norwegian Manager helped them win the game.
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#5 Team Selection
Solskjaer had a dilemma when it came to selecting his team. Victor Lindelof was away on personal leave due to the birth of his child. He had Eric Bailly as an option but chose to go with Phil Jones. It turned out to be a fantastic decision and was proof that Solskjaer knew his players well. Jones was rock solid on the night and put in a great shift.
He also had another decision to make, because neither Lukaku nor Lingard was fit to last the whole game. He opted for Juan Mata as a part of the front three alongside Rashford and Martial, and the Spaniard was fantastic too.
When he had to make substitutions in the second half, he made like for like changes, Lingard for Mata and Pereira for Herrera, to help maintain the momentum. And he brought on Rojo for the closing stages of the game, in place of Martial, to provide some steel in the defense.
#4 Compact defending
United have recently picked up a habit of starting their games slow. And after the international break, United certainly looked a little off the pace at the start. Watford started the game stronger and pegged United back in their own backyard. The fact that the home team kept giving away the ball did not help either. However, United held on, especially thanks to their back line, who were solid and composed.
Smalling put in another stellar shift, but it was Phil Jones who turned out to be the unsung hero of the day. The Englishman was drafted in for Lindelof and rarely put a foot wrong. He was strong, he was vocal and he battled on till the end. The United midfield was extremely poor on the night, failing to close down the gaps in the initial stages, but they joined the war with their backs against the wall.
They did let in a goal in the closing stages, due to a loss of concentration, but held on to secure three points.
#3 Fluid attacking set up
Solskjaer likes his team to have a certain degree of flexibility. It was an important attribute that he incorporated into Manchester United since taking charge. Against Watford too, Solskjaer stayed true to his system and it helped him gather three important points.
United started with Martial, Rashford, and Mata, who floated around the front line. When Mata shifted to the False 9 role, he was warranted a lot of freedom in his movements. As United gained confidence in the first half, they moved the ball very fast around the opposition box, finally scored through a counter.
In the second half though, United’s clever movements were fruitful again. Martial took a ball from the left side and after a few swift interchanges, found himself at the end of a cut back from Lingard from the right. Foster saved well from the Frenchman's first effort, but Martial was off the ground in a flash to lift the ball home from close range. It helped United settle down and ultimately sealed the game.
#2 Switching to a False 9
Manchester United started with Rashford through the middle, with Martial down the left and Mata through the right. In the first 13 minutes of the game, United were forced back and had to hold on to their lives against a continuous onslaught from Watford. Whenever United got the ball, there were a lot of miss passes and the home team failed to put any pressure on the Watford backline.
Solskjaer noticed this and made a subtle change to his team. He put Mata in the center and shifted Rashford to the right. The Spaniard started operating as the False 9, with Martial and Rashford as the wide forwards. Slowly, United started gaining momentum, as Mata started getting into good spaces and moving the ball well.
The Spaniard’s intelligence and clever movements were too much for the away side. He found his front men easily and began feeding them good balls to run into. With every passing moment, United grew into the game and won the midfield battle as well as the game.
#1 Counter Attack
Time and again, Solskjaer has shown that his team are deadly on a counter attack. Against Watford too, the Norwegian set his team up to attack on the counter. However, things refused to take shape in the first 15 minutes and United were all over the place. Solskjaer could have opted to hold the ball and try a slow build-up play. Instead, he continued to have faith in his team.
In the end, his belief took shape. United were down with their back against the wall when Luke Shaw won back the ball in the 28th minute. He initiated the counter and could have opted for a safer pass to Martial just ahead of him.
Instead, just like his manager, the Englishman dared to believe and churned out the perfect ball for Marcus Rashford. Rashford ran on to the ball, took one touch and sent it beyond the onrushing Foster.
The home team threatened to score on quite a few occasions in the counter but were let down due in the final third. However, their counter-attacking style of play ultimately helped them win the game.
