UEFA Champions League: Manchester United 4-2 Bayer Leverkusen - Tactical Analysis

Wayne Rooney celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the UEFA Champions League Group A match between Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen at Old Trafford on September 17, 2013 in Manchester, England. (Getty Images)

The last time the two sides met in the Champions League Group stages was in 2002. Manchester United were victorious in both the games with Ruud van Nistelrooy scoring in both and a certain Bulgarian striker named Dimitar Berbatov getting his name on the score sheet for Bayer.

This of course was only one season after Bayer had dumped United out in the semi-final stages of the 2001-02 season to set up a final against Real Madrid, which will always be remembered for that outrageous Zinedine Zidane goal.

Fast forward to 2013 and both teams find themselves in the same group once again. While Group F was quick to be tagged the ‘group of death’, Group A featuring these two teams along with Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Sociedad isn’t exactly a walk in the park. Both sides came into the game on back of home wins in their respective leagues and were keen to get their first points on the board.

Manchester United’s starting line up was as expected. Marouane Fellaini made his first start for the English Champions while Chris Smalling was selected at right-back. Japan International Shinji Kagawa started on the left. For Leverkusen, their midfield was weakened by the absence of Lars Bender. And promising youngster Emre Can started in his place.

Bayer sit deep

The most fashionable and arguably most effective tactic in recent times is the pressing game. Relentless pressure off the ball throughout the game coupled with quick easy on the eye attacking play has become more of the norm than the exception.

Indeed Leverkusen have to look no further than Borussia Dortmund to see how pressing high up the field is often the basic component of success. To say that Bayer didn’t press at all would be inaccurate. They did press but it was in deeper positions. They were content to sit deep and let United play in front of them; an understandable tactic but ultimately the wrong one as it gave the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini time on the ball.

Passing accuracy is a much maligned statistic, but in this case it’s quite telling that Vidic attempted 48 passes with an accuracy of 100% and Ferdinand wasn’t far behind with an accuracy of 98%. In addition to conceding possession, Leverkusen’s tactics lead to United’s territorial dominance as shown in the graphic.

Bayer Leverkusen sitting deep via squawka.com

United’s midfield dominance

Against Liverpool, United simply could not cope with a three-man midfield. But the acquisition of Fellaini has helped them in that aspect. The job of the Belgian and Carrick was made easier by Leverkusen sitting deep but the duo played an integral part in building up United’s attacks as well.

Such was their level of domination that, in the first half alone Fellaini and Carrick had 69 and 61 touches of the ball respectively as opposed to Simon Rolfes, Can and Stefan Reinartz, who had a paltry 84 touches collectively.

Leverkusen’s defence struggled to contain United’s forward line led by an on-song Wayne Rooney, so they would’ve been better served trying to cut off the supply by putting pressure on Carrick and Fellaini and thus choking the supply.

Unfortunately for Leverkusen, Bender wasn’t fit to feature from the start. His presence was missed as despite only being on the pitch for the last half hour, he made the most tackles in the game (five).

Manchester United’s midfield dominance via squawka.com

Leverkusen’s blunt attack

A forward line of Stefan Kie?ling, Sidney Sam and Heung Min Son is not one that can be dismissed off-hand. Leverkusen have started the season in good form and their attack was expected to trouble United’s defence.

However, it was not to be. Yes, they did finish with two goals to their name but the second was a mere consolation from a corner that was given away needlessly. An unusually off-colour Ferdinand had a few shaky moments but truth be told: Leverkusen did not carry any real threat.

The fact that Kagawa started on the left meant that Patrice Evra was expected to provide the width in attack on that side. This was a situation that Leverkusen should have looked to exploit with Giulio Donati and Sam, but they failed to do so. Kie?ling also struggled to make an impact against the experienced pairing of Ferdinand and Vidic winning only two aerial duels as compared to the Serbian’s six.

United’s wing play and Wayne Rooney

United have traditionally had an emphasis on wide play, especially in the Sir Alex Ferguson era. This trend looks like it will be continued under David Moyes. Throughout the first half it was the left wing that provided the majority of the home team’s attacking threat.

United’s emphasis on wing play via squawka.com

With Kagawa cutting infield, it was the Frenchman Evra, who stretched play on that side. Young full-back Donati struggled to come to terms with the constant shuffling of the United pack with Robin van Persie and Rooney also taking turns to drift out to that wing.

It came as no surprise when the opening goal of the night originated from United’s left wing. And the proverbial icing on the cake also came in the form of a swift counter from the left-hand side with Antonio Valencia finishing off a sweeping move for United’s third. Valencia had a good game with a goal and an assist to his name (van Persie for the second), further highlighting United’s propensity towards wing play.

But the star of the show was undoubtedly Rooney. Two goals and an assist is a good return but more than that it was the fact that he finally looked sharp that stood out. The quick turn of pace was back and as was his sharpness. Rooney delivered a quick reminder of why Chelsea coveted him and more to the fact, why he still is at Old Trafford despite all the drama.

Goals were the order of the day in this opening Group A encounter. From United’s point of view, their attacking play was good and after what seems like an eternity they now boast of a physical presence in midfield in the form of Fellaini.

Their tendency to leak goals though continues to be a problem; one which if not addressed will haunt them should they progress to the knockout phase. For Sami Hyypia’s Leverkusen, it simply wasn’t a good day at the office. They will be heading back to Germany with nothing to show for their travels but its early days yet and as the old commentating cliché goes: there’s still all to play for.