How did Marc Skinner's new Manchester United system look against West Ham?
New ideas and the return of Grace Clinton left plenty of intrigue after a confident win at Old Trafford.
Manchester United kickstarted the season with a comfortable 3-0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford.
First half goals from Geyse & Leah Galton gave the Red Devils a 2-0 lead going into the break. Grace Clinton also opened up her United goalscoring account just eight minutes into the second half by guiding a header, from a pinpoint Lisa Naalsund cross, into the bottom corner.
The game saw little else by way of clear-cut chances. Towards the end, Ella Toone forced Kinga Szemik to charge her down and produce a good save. Whilst Geyse almost had one of the goals of the season when she crashed the crossbar with an audacious overhead kick.
Video credit: Conner Roberts
The new systemÂ
Marc Skinner spoke about being the same but different in his post-match interview and this is how we mostly saw the game play out.Â
Out of possession, the team set up against West Ham in a traditional back four with Galton and Jayde Riviere as the full-backs. Dominique Janssen and Naalsund operated in a double pivot just in front of the back four, creating a 4-2-4 defensive shape.
This made United very compact when West Ham had the ball — with the London club having 44% of the possession on the day.
The best example of this compactness is seen in the interception stats. Naalsund had the most interceptions, four (per Opta), of any player on the pitch. She effectively stopped West Ham from playing the ball through the middle and generating attacks. Â
In this defensive shape, United used the four forward players to utilise a high press on West Ham’s backline. Toone and Clinton excelled in this role with their energy closing down the angles for the West Ham players as they tried to play out from the back. In most cases, West Ham were forced to go long. Which resulted in United winning back possession.Â
When United was in possession, the team shifted to a back three with Riviere slotting in alongside centrebacks Maya Le Tissier and Millie Turner. Leah Galton and Geyse provided the width, with Toone and Clinton occupying those spaces in between the wide players and Elisabeth Terland in the middle of the attack.
Janssen and Naalsund offered the defensive screen in front of the back three with one of them pushing on into the forward positions when United had the ball in the West Ham half. If one went forward the other sat as the deeper midfielder.Â
What could be improved?
This system did have its flaws, which the coaching staff will be looking to iron out as the season goes on.
One of these was the position of Ella Toone, who played off the left of Terland in this game. With Toone drifting centrally on occasions, the centre and right side of the pitch did get congested at times due to Naalsund, Clinton, Terland, and Geyse all occupying those areas too.
Where this could be a problem moving forward is when United lose the ball. In defensive transition, the spaces on the left-hand side felt especially open due to Galton’s high position on the pitch. This is something United might find teams trying to exploit if they are to continue with the same personnel in this system.Â
The BeneficiaryÂ
For me, the player who looked like they benefited the most from this system was Grace Clinton. The 21-year-old midfielder pressed from the front, and her energy didn’t drop throughout the game.
Excellent link-up play opened up spaces for forward runs from the midfield two of Naalsund and Janssen, and also took a defender away from Geyse, which allowed the Brazilian to be one-on-one with the opposing full-back.
Clinton’s goal came from Naalsund intercepting the ball high up the pitch and Clinton staying forward, in line with Terland in the box, and splitting the West Ham defenders as a result of the duo’s movement.
Final thought
Skinner speaks about energy in his teams and this new style that United are looking to adopt this season requires a lot of that. Pressing from the front, adaptability in the wide areas and being able to react quickly in defensive transition. We will see many players benefit from this system, however there may be a few that aren’t able to reach their full potential under it.
Time will tell if this is the winning formula to push United back into the top three. With a big test to come against Chelsea in two weeks time, that will be a better reflection of where this team is at with its understanding of the new style.
READ MORE: Manchester United season preview: A new look and fresh optimism
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One thing that stood out to me was Terland's positioning. It was nothing mindblowing, but because she's a proper 9, she was always up against the last West Ham defender, keeping their back 4 pinned back, which in turn helped create space for the attacking mids/forwards. She may not have scored but more than contributed to the result and performance.
Another Reset by Skinner I am interested to know how many he has signed not played them and they have left I am interested in the turnover of players since he became manager