How can Manchester United evolve this season?

As the Red Devils head into a third consecutive season under the management of Jose Mourinho, the pressure to deliver major silverware at Old Trafford has never been greater post Sir Alex Ferguson. Mourinho’s 6^th and 2^nd place Premier League finishes along with a Europa League Trophy and a League Cup triumph have overall been a welcome improvement over his predecessor Louis Van Gaal’s 4^th and 5^th place finishes and an FA Cup final win. There is no doubting that the senior squad United boast today is a better one than Jose inherited but there remains many discontent voices among the Old Trafford faithful regarding the team’s style of play. The desire among red’s supporters for a manager who can deliver both entertaining and winning football is palpable and made only stronger by the successes of crosstown rivals Manchester City.

Summer additions of Brazilian midfielder Fred, Portuguese full-back Diogo Dalot and new third choice Goalkeeper Lee Grant have been welcomed by United fans, each player fulfilling an obvious need in the squad. But there are still some glaring gaps in personnel which remain worrisome, most notably at left-back. This has contributed to Mourinho’s seeming discontentment with Ed Woodward’s transfer dealings, moves for Toby Alderweireld, Alex Sandro and Ivan Perisic to name a few have all hit early roadblocks. So while the opening bets are placed the question on the red half of Manchester is how can Mourinho use the cards he’s been dealt to evolve his United side for the better this coming season?

Starting Point

The most typical trait of a Jose Mourinho side is that they are very organised and well-drilled when out of possession, the Portuguese manager is arguably the best in the business when it comes to deploying defensive structure and seems to have a counter position for every game plan his teams come up against. The 2017/18 season saw United boast an impressive defensive record in the Premier League, conceding the second lowest tally of 28 goals behind only Manchester City with 27 conceded. Goalkeeper David De Gea won his first ever Premier League golden glove as Jose’s United kept the most clean sheets last season with 19, 1 ahead of City’s 18.

United def — The above image will not look unfamiliar to United fans. Defence first is always Mourinho’s pragmatic approach especially against rival teams, demanding his back 4 and midfield remain disciplined out of possession. His team will often pick out a danger man in the opposition side to pay particular focus to, such as Ashley Young man-marking Mo Salah in United’s 2-1 win over Liverpool in March 2018.

That game saw United complete only 194 of their 283 passes with very little penetration made into the attacking third. The amount of long passes from defensive areas is also visible, this is done to avoid Liverpool’s excellent high press and to hopefully catch out their high defensive line. Mourinho is always looking to counter his opponent’s setup first and foremost.

But it is in possession that United’s issues are most notable as although they finished 2^nd last season their tally of 68 goals was only the 5^th highest in the league. Jose’s men often struggled to break down organised defensive blocks which ironically suggests that although Mourinho is well equipped to setup such a well-drilled defence, his teams often look clueless as to how to break one down.