Michael Carrick needs to rethink a tactic that was to blame for Roma's goals against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.
Dalot's High Position Causes Problems
Manchester United fans were scratching their heads when Roma took the lead at Old Trafford on Tuesday night. Kobbie Mainoo was dispossessed and Roma switched play to the right. The ball was sent into space because Diogo Dalot was frantically sprinting back after standing on the left wing.
A simple pass was played over Ayden Heaven to Matias Soule, who probably couldn't believe that he'd been afforded so much time to get his finish right. Fingers were immediately pointed at Dalot, who seemed responsible for creating the space after pushing high, but Roma won a penalty a few minutes later in a similar fashion, pointing to a tactical failure.
Dalot was caught out of position again and was running back when Heaven conceded a penalty for a handball from a Soule effort. Some would have blamed Dalot again, but most should have realised at that stage that Dalot was only pushing so high under tactical instructions from Carrick.
Carrick's Failure to Adjust
Carrick should have scrapped the tactic when Roma scored their first goal. Everyone except the United boss could see that the space vacated by Dalot was a huge problem, but he didn't tweak the set-up until it happened again.
Dalot spoke to reporters after the full-time whistle and was asked about his position. "Yes, obviously," he said when asked if he'd been told to push high. "We knew that they were going to play man-to-man, but that requires some things that we need to avoid, especially losing balls in the middle, because we knew that we're going to be too open.
"But after, obviously, after the second goal, we tried to fix it straight away. I think we balanced a little bit more the game and kept ourselves in the game, and I think second half we came right at it and won the game."
Wider Tactical Concerns
It wasn't just Dalot that Carrick wanted to push high, either. There was a passage of play when Roma almost found a similar pocket of space on Leny Yoro's side, as the Frenchman had pushed up to the right wing from right-back. Yoro managed to recover with a last-ditch tackle thanks to his determination and pace, but for both of the away side's goals Dalot was so far forward that it was impossible for him to make up the ground.
While Dalot is an easy scapegoat, he was not to blame for the huge spaces that Roma were allowed into. United fans were understandably angry when the second goal hit the net, but Carrick shouldn't have needed it to happen again to realise that his plan wasn't working.
Carrick may be tempted to deploy the same tactic this weekend against Aston Villa, which seems to be a byproduct of United trying to go man-to-man with their press, however, it's clearly an idea that should be binned. The theory behind it is sound, but for the tactic to be executed successfully, United need to be a dominant possession side, which they are not, despite Carrick's attempts to evolve the team's approach this term.
One of the most concerning aspects of this season has been the tactical problems that have arisen from Carrick trying to make the team a more front-foot, possession-based team, capable of controlling games. The same happened with Erik ten Hag, which was ultimately his downfall. His first season was built on a solid defensive foundation and transitions, but he attempted to change the team's style to progress and it backfired.
The fact that the same is happening with Carrick raises the question of whether he is a coach capable of making United into a team that controls games to win titles, but those conversations started weeks ago.
