ERIK TEN HAG answered some of his doubters after Manchester United came from behind to beat Brenford 2-1 last weekend.
Goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund, assisted by Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes respectively, secured victory for the Red Devils.
And the Red Devils then followed that up with a 1-1 draw away at Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.
United were generally dominant against Thomas Frank‘s tricky Bees, particularly in the second half.
Ten Hag opted to switch up his team selection for the game, which could be the trigger for a rebirth after a tricky start to the season.
This was seen with Garnacho deployed on the left wing and Rashford on the right, despite Rashford previously saying he preferred to be on the left rather than in the middle or on the right.
And in the Fenerbahce came, Ten Hag continued with the two players in their new roles, though started Joshua Zirkzee up front instead of Rasmus Hojlund.
It is easy to make the argument that Garnacho and Rashford should be interchangeable in terms of their position on the wings due to being right-footers who prefer to drive inside towards goal.
But that is not strictly the case, and it seems Ten Hag has made a clear statement about how they can both add value to the attack in those specific roles.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the role of the two United attacking players in the match against Brentford and discuss how this could see United set up for the rest of the season.
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Garnacho as the threat on the counter
When we think of the truly great United teams of the last 20-30 years, we do not think of teams that look to dominate possession of the ball.
Instead, we think of teams that were truly great and extremely difficult to play against in counter-attacking situations, or, in the more modern term, in transition.
They traditionally excelled when it came to winning the ball back in their half of the pitch and then hitting the opposition quickly on the counter.
This is why they tended to have wide attackers who were quick and direct in the mould of Ryan Giggs or even the early version of Cristiano Ronaldo.
This is where Garnacho thrives. He is something of a throwback as a wide-attacking player because he thrives in moments when there is space to attack in front of him and where he can use his pace and direct running to hurt the opposition.
There is an argument to be made this is what we thought Rashford would become when he first came through at United, but he has developed into a more controlled player who likes to receive the ball in front of the opposition as opposed to constantly making runs to attack space behind the defensive line.
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Given that Garnacho models his game on Ronaldo it should come as no surprise that the young Argentinian is extremely dangerous when receiving the ball with these kinds of spaces to attack.
He is far less likely to want to drop off to receive the ball from his defenders and midfielders, and he wants to play on the shoulder of the last defender, therefore giving United a constant outball and threat in behind.
Before the Brentford match, he was averaging four shots per 90 minutes but took eight alone against the Bees.
He was also managing just 7.4 touches in the opposition penalty area, before having ten against Brentford.
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Straight away we see the increased outputs that come from playing Garnacho in a position that suits him better.
Garnacho is an extremely exciting player who needs space to attack when he receives the ball to be at his best. Playing from the left-side seems to give Garnacho just that.
Rashford as a more creative player
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When Rashford made his breakthrough many thought the club had unearthed their next big striker and that he looked ready, technically and physically, to play as the main star for the next decade.
Instead, we have seen Rashford become a high-level wide attacker, though last season there was a notable dip in form with a heavily reduced output from the 30 goals he got the season before.
Despite being clear that he preferred to play from the left side of the attack, the switch to the right side may actually be really beneficial to the 60-cap England star.
In the match against Brentford, we saw Rashford moving inside from the right wing to take up more central positions in the channels as Diogo Dalot moved high and provided width from right-back.
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This movement and more central occupation of space actually saw Rashford get on the ball far more in the final third than we may have been used to seeing.
In these more central positions, Rashford is still a threat to take the ball on the turn and to attack forward and into space.
He is also, however, a creative threat with the ability to take the ball in tight areas and when under pressure and to link the play or find angles to play passes to break the last line.
This showed in the data where, previous to the Brentford game, Rashford had been averaging 4.4 passes into the opposition area per 90, while he played eight of these passes in this game.
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He had also been averaging 1.6 chances created per game but in this match he created four, showcasing his increased involvement in the build-up than what had been seen on the left previously.
Using Rashford in a more creative and involved role from the right side of the attack gives United a more unpredictable yet balanced look across their attack.
Both Garnacho and Rashford can attack space behind the defence
While it would be fair to say Garnacho had a strong game against Brentford, it was also one of the more complete and impressive performances seen from Rasmus Hojlund since his arrival.
The Dane has an excellent physical profile and that was put to perfect use in this match as we saw him continually look to drop deep into the midfield to receive the ball.
These movements from Hojlund dragged one of the Brentford defenders out of position over and over again, and these spaces were then free to be exploited by United.
This is where having two wide attackers who have explosive pace, like Rashford and Garnacho, comes into play as they are able to make runs from out to in to attack this space.
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Hojlund is capable of dropping into deeper areas and receiving to turn and play the ball forward.
But he can also receive the ball and then quickly link with creative central midfielders who can then play forward and into advanced positions.
And he is then equally capable when asked to play on the shoulder himself, as seen with his lovely chipped finish for the winner.
With the capability of Garnacho and Rashford to time their runs to attack the space this can create dangerous situations for United.
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In having both Rashford and Garnacho playing in this manner and threatening to attack space behind and between the opposition defenders, we will see United setting up in a similar way to Jurgen Klopp‘s best team at Liverpool.
His title-winning side saw Roberto Firmino dropping deep to receive and Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane making diagonal runs to attack space, which proved very effective for all parties involved.
Conclusion
While Rashford may not prefer to play from the right, his positional intelligence, creative passing and link play on the ball showed a new layer of his game.
When you combine this with the pace and directness of Garnacho on the left side, it is fair to say that Ten Hag may have unearthed a combination that can drive United up the Premier League table.
