“Completely changed” – Maresca reveals tactical tweak that exposed Man Utd’s biggest flaw

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca explained how he outmanoeuvred Manchester United despite going a man down.

The Red Devils hosted the Cityzens at Old Trafford in the season’s first edition of the Manchester Derby.

The home side enjoyed a promising start, and their chances of coming away with a win skyrocketed when Phil Foden was shown a red card for an upkick on Bruno Fernandes just 23rd minute into the game.

And yet, United came away empty-handed.

Enzo Maresca exposes major Man Utd weakness

While they came extremely close to scoring, MUFC only hit the post through Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo.

Instead, it was Man City who snatched the lead thanks to a dubious strike from Erling Haaland following Patrick Dorgu’s poor clearance. The vast majority of refereeing experts agree that the goal shouldn’t have stood due to Enzo Fernandez’s offside position.

Nevertheless, Man Utd should still have come away with the result after playing the bulk of the game with an extra man on the pitch.

In his post-match press conference, Maresca explained why United failed to capitalise on their advantage.

The Italian head coach noted that Michael Carrick’s team enjoys playing transition football, so when Man City dropped deep after losing Foden, Man Utd didn’t find the spaces they like to operate in.

“I think the plan was 11 against 11. After the red card, it completely changed,” said the former Chelsea and Leicester boss (via Hayters TV)

“I think the game with ten players became more difficult for us, but also for them, because they are a team that loves transitions. They love space in behind.

“With ten players, we just dropped, waiting for them. So we didn’t concede any transitions. We didn’t concede any space in behind. So that’s why I said that probably the game became more difficult for us and for them.”

Man United also struggled against packed Hull City defences

Maresca is surely spot on in his assessment of Man Utd, but the team’s inability to create chances against low blocks was already exposed on the opening day of the season at Hull.

The Tigers pounced on United’s poor set-piece defending to score twice, while Bruno Fernandes and Co. weren’t able to carve a path towards goal.

(Stats via FotMob)

When playing against packed defences, the team is required to shift the ball swiftly and make the most of any opening, and this is an area that Carrick’s men have utterly struggled at, resulting in two defeats in the first four Premier League fixtures of the season.

And with Maresca publicly boasting about his tactical masterpiece, the risk for Man Utd is that others could follow suit by adopting a similarly passive approach, leaving the initiative to the Reds.

Therefore, improving the team’s ability to work the ball and operate in tight spaces should be the priority for the technical staff moving forward.