Manchester United Women have enjoyed a relatively good start to the season, considering their status as first-time participants in the FAWSL.
They currently occupy the fourth position and have deserved it based on their performances in the first half of the season.
Even though third-placed Chelsea are eight points ahead, United will not have expected to be top of the chasing pack behind the top three.
With a game in hand, United could really cement fourth come the end of the season.
Lauren James has rightly taken most of the plaudits, but there have been other stellar performances, most notably by defensive midfielder Katie Zelem.
The Manchester United captain has been in superb form, propelling the team forward and acting as the heartbeat of this United team.
The play runs through her, and while her execution may seem very basic, her simplicity makes her seem so dangerous.
This scout report will detail the attributes Zelem possesses and how she fits into Casey Stoney’s tactics.
We will use tactical football analysis to determine her qualities and how she is the most important player at Manchester United through analysis.
Katie Zelem Style of Play Manchester United Women
Zelem primarily plays in the double pivot in Manchester United’s 4-2-3-1 formation.
Sitting alongside Hayley Ladd, Zelem plays a playmaking role, looking to dictate the pace of the game and provide the team with positive forward movement.
She is often seen stealing back possession and pushing United forward through her excellent range of passing or dribbling ability to get into more dangerous positions to unleash her dangerous forwards.
The United captain has incredible ball retention skills and can quickly dribble and move out of pressing situations.
Stoney has looked to implement a strong, solid defensive foundation to create a base off of which the team can attack.
The Red Devils usually line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation going forward and a deep 4-5-1 out of possession.
United primarily look to play on the counter-attack using the pace of Galton, James, and Kirsty Hanson to threaten opposition defences.
Jackie Groenen provides the guile and work rate from the number 10 position.
The four bring individual qualities and strengths that have troubled teams going forward.
Their 4-5-1 gives them defensive solidarity and aims to tighten up spaces between their defence and midfield.
Zelem and Ladd usually patrol the defensive midfield area effectively, sweeping up any loose balls and providing Manchester United with a solid foundation to build on.
This is where Zelem’s creative passing and ball-carrying attributes come into play and shine.
Man United Women Positional play
As a defensive midfielder, Zelem needs exceptional positional sense to prevent the opposition from penetrating through midfield.
With Stoney focusing on keeping a tight, compact shape, the onus is on the two defensive midfielders to lead from the front and force the opposition to try riskier passes or lose possession higher up the pitch, allowing the team a counter-attacking opportunity.
This is what makes Zelem such an integral part of United’s midfield.
She is able to be in the right place at the right time, and while Ladd will carry out more of the defensive work, Zelem doesn’t shy away from making a tackle.
This, combined with her playmaking abilities, makes her very dangerous in transitioning from defence to attack.
Part of Zelem’s intelligence is knowing where her teammates are on the pitch, alongside her excellent interception and tackling ability to dispossess the opposition and pass effectively.
Looking at some of her statistics in her first few months, we can see she has engaged in an average of 16.02 duels per 90, winning 48% of them.
Additionally, she averages 7.17 recoveries per 90, with 45.6% of them coming in the opposition half.
The number is impressive since Ladd is more of the destroyer in this double-pivot combination.
At the time of the pass, Zelem was the closest player and reacted immediately to get herself in between the ball and the player.
In doing so, she catches the Everton midfielder off guard and manages to dribble her way into the middle third to lay it off to Jessica Sigsworth.
Zelem is equally important in United’s build-up play. Often, she is the link player who bridges the gap between defence and midfield.
While United tries to play out through the fullbacks, there are times when she needs to drop in to receive a pass directly from the centrebacks.
The United captain will drop into a deeper position to collect possession even if players want to press and add pressure.
Zelem is able to do this due to her incredible skill at keeping possession under pressure.
Being able to manoeuvre the ball through one or two players and keeping possession frees up other players around the pitch.
She attracts players around her to try to dispossess her, but this often just creates more space for them to run into or for other players to drop in to receive a pass.
She receives close to 26 passes per 90 minutes, the majority of which come from the central defenders and Ladd.
More often than not, Chloe Kelly and her strike partner would attempt to pressure the defenders and anyone coming into the defensive third.
In this passage of play, Zelem picks up possession and dribbles her way past Simone Magill (#10).
Controlling tempo
From an attacking perspective, Zelem plays a major role in United’s link between midfield and attack, using her passing and intelligent runs to open space and create attacking opportunities.
Zelem has incredible vision and creativity; she can see a pass before receiving possession.
This allows her to send a pass forward much without taking any pressure from opposing players.
Not only is she reliable defensively, but she can also effectively control the tempo of the game in games when United has the lion’s share of possession.
They are integral to the way Manchester United attack and score goals.
Galton, Sigsworth, and Hanson prefer to drift inside rather than stay outside like a traditional winger.
James is a complete striker who excels in and around the box.
This gives Zelem a number of targets to aim for who can capitalise on small amounts of space, especially James, who is exceptional in tight spaces.
From long-ranged passes to penetrative passes, Zelem’s repertoire includes a wide range of passing techniques that are used to switch play and open up stubborn defences.
Looking at her passing statistics, one point that stands out is her assists versus her xA.
This season, she averages 0.11 assists per 90, whereas her xA comes up to 0.14.
This further emphasises her ability to create goal-scoring opportunities, but the receivers are not clinical enough to take their chances.
Her passes into the final third are pretty high, with 8.11 at a 68.8% success rate per 90.
This shows how United relied on her passing to provide momentum for their attacks.
As she picks up possession in the wide area, she enters and looks for a killer pass through their defence.
With four players in front of her, Zelem manages to spot a gap through them, playing in Galton’s intelligent run off the shoulder of the defenders.
Even though they are focused on Zelem’s position, her pass penetrated through the defence and gave her winger an excellent goal-scoring opportunity.
Another underrated part of her game is her progressive runs and long-shot ability.
The deep-lying midfielder has an incredible ability to shoot from range and, more often than not, troubles the goalkeeper.
While she hasn’t scored from open play yet, she has had several shots on the opposition goal.
Starting from a deeper position as part of the double pivot, Zelem can drive into the final third with a late, unmarked run that allows her to get a shot off.
Her runs equally cause defence issues because of her ability to dribble and manoeuvre past multiple players.
Statistically, Zelem averages 1.9 shots per 90, with 38.9% of them on target.
Because of her deeper starting position, Everton’s defenders were unable to pick up on Zelem’s run, which gave her more than enough time and space to test the goalkeeper from range.
Leading by example
Zelem will continue to be one of Manchester United Women’s most important and influential players.
She forms part of the core crux that is slowly developing and forming the spine of the team.
With James spearheading the attack, Zelem holds the midfield together alongside Groenen, which the team can be built around.
If United can find a strong central defender, then the rest of the team can grow and become a title-winning side with a few more additions.
However, as it stands, Zelem is United’s most important player, and without her, the side looks like a totally different proposition, as they lose her intelligent passing range and progressive runs.
