Manchester United face Arsenal in FA Cup on Friday
Friday 25 January 2019 10:45, UK
Danny Higginbotham highlights how a change in shape has seen Manchester United's caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer win seven games in a row and bring the best out of Marcus Rashford.
Rashford is in outstanding form, but it has been a collective effort, and when you look at the way they are playing currently, you can see the width is coming from the full-backs.
Under Jose Mourinho, at Manchester City for example, no player was anywhere near Rashford, and that was a problem for United. It came about because Mourinho thought they were vulnerable defensively, so it was a case of their attack-minded players playing 10 or 15 yards deeper than they would usually want to.
That in turn led to the centre-forward being isolated. On the counter too, Rashford would look for options but few players would be in the vicinity. His only option would be to hold the ball, but by the time the support came, the opposition players would get themselves back into shape.
Now, the full-backs are further forward, and the front four of Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba can interchange and play closer together. It means Rashford is not isolated and he can play the ball first time and then move again.
Pogba is pushing higher up the pitch too, and space is being created for him by Rashford, while the intricacy of their football is enabling them to get through teams as well.
Because the full-backs are giving great width it also means the front three or four are actually in the box when crosses are coming in.
Under Mourinho, the likes of Martial were playing so much deeper than they wanted to be. It would end up being a 4-5-1, and that one was a long way away.
But now, you've got Lingard, Rashford and Martial as a front three, and with the opposition full-backs having to take care of United's own full-backs, and with Pogba joining in too, at times you have arguably got four attackers against three opposition defenders.
Meanwhile, United have Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera to 'box' with United's centre-backs in defence.
If you look at when United went to Brighton away, Romelu Lukaku was the front man, but the midfield three are all very close.
Fast-forward to United at home against Brighton and it's a completely different situation. You've got your two sitting midfielders but all of a sudden you have Lingard, Pogba and Martial all in the vicinity of Rashford up front. That makes life a lot easier.
At times, I felt for Lukaku because there was more of an emphasis on the defensive side because they were conceding so many goals at the time.
But Solskjaer has looked at it and thought our best form of defence is attack, being on the front foot and pressing high. It is working a treat for them and none more so than Rashford.
Solskjaer is saying, let's defend with a four, and attack with a six.
