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Below are Cleverley’s action areas from 3 matches – first one being the match that United won 3-2 at Stamford Bridge on 28th October, the second one is that of the match played on 5th May last season, which Chelsea won 1-0 and the third one being that of the match played on Monday.
Tom Cleverley Action Areas vs Chelsea – 28 October, 2012
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Tom Cleverley Action Areas vs Chelsea – 05 May, 2013
Tom Cleverley Action Areas vs Chelsea – 26 August, 2013
Comparing the three, it is evident that his positioning in central midfield was the most in the last match, along with a considerable presence on the right wing too (When Valencia tucked into midfield and took central positions). On the other hand, in the previous two matches, he was pushed back into his own half and on the occasional foray that he made into attack, Ramires made sure that he exploited the space left open by Cleverley.
Carrick excelled in the left central midfield role. With Welbeck coming infield to offer support and Ramires also being pushed back to help Lampard, Carrick had time, space and options to pick a pass.
Michael Carrick Pass Distribution vs Chelsea – 26 August, 2013
Tom Cleverley Pass Distribution vs Chelsea – 05 May, 2013
There was also a huge difference in Cleverley’s and Carrick’s passing statistics. Cleverley’s numbers on passing distribution clearly showed he was all over the place and had almost zero involvement in the final third. Carrick, on the other hand, made several forward passes as well as long range passes. Also, he was fully aware of his position on the pitch and made sure that he did not leave space in the defensive third of the pitch for the likes De Bruyne and Schurrle to exploit
Well, it is clear now that Moyes got it tactically correct in the middle of the park. While some might argue as to whether he should have started Kagawa instead of Welbeck or Valencia, he certainly made the right selection and positioning of his central midfield pair.
On a parting note, here is another stat which shows the United midfield’s increasing influence on their team’s performance.
An impressive 26% of the team’s passes were just between the two United midfielders, which shows almost everything went through them on Monday
It will be interesting to see whether Moyes sticks to this or if he alters his midfield as per the opposition, which should ideally be the case. Also with talk of United buying a central midfielder before the transfer window closes, much surprise and excitement awaits Manchester United fans.
(Stats taken from Sqauwka.com and Whoscored.com)
