http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Valencia-c40863 – How will Sir Alex change his formation at Manchester United? – Part 1
With Ashley Young’s arrival at Manchester United, things are set to change at Old Trafford, the futures of Luis http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Antonio-Valencia-c6345 have been under speculation to say the least amongst United’s fans and now there might be
a change in Ferguson’s formation at Old Trafford as well. In the 2010-2011 Manchester United marched to their 19th English league title, it was seen as a landmark achievement in the club’s history as they overhauled the 18 title mark set by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809
courtesy of their dominance in the 1980s.
However it in the European theatre of club football that Manchester United are now shifting their focus towards. At the start of the 2010-2011 season, Ferguson’s team were nowhere near the pundit’s favourites to make it to the
UEFA Champions League final in Wembley. The Red Devils were behind the likes of Bayern Munich and Chelsea as well as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Real-c30728 Madrid in the pecking order in European football. Defying all odds, United did reach the pen-ultimate match of the
2010-2011 UEFA Champions League.
On their way to Wembley, the Red Devils’ bested http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympic-c40122 Marseille in the round of sixteen after drawing the first leg away in France, United won 2-1 on their home turf. In the first leg, some of the glaring deficiencies in United’s
midfield were laid http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899 and it was evident hat United needed some reinforcement in the midfield department. In the quarterfinals, Manchester United
faced off against Chelsea.
Again the Red Devils’ were second favourites to win against the Blues but they managed to take advantage of Chelsea’s lack of form by netting a crucial away win at Stamford Bridge. In the second leg, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 were expected to launch
a comeback but United were once again impervious at Old Trafford as this time Sir http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michael-Carrick-c25282. Chelsea lost out in the end and Manchester United progressed onto the semi-finals where
they played Schalke 04.
In the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Schalke 04, United used a 4-4-1-1 formation which worked wonders for them. Schalke were held in high esteem by pundits as they had knocked out the defending UEFA
Champions League champions in the quarterfinals http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan but against United, the German underdogs failed to live up to their billing. The Red Devils’ gained an aggregate victory over the two ties as the Hernandez – Rooney combo up front worked wonders for
them. Sir Alex now had a particular dilemma at his hands.
Either had he to stick with the Hernandez – Rooney combination against Barcelona in the final and risk getting run over by the Catalonian giants’ three man midfield or field a three man midfield himself in a 4-5-1 formation and
risk sacrificing his team’s offensive instincts. Given Javier Hernandez’s rise as a prolific goal scorer in the latter stages of the 2010-2011 Premier League season and Wayne Rooney’s form in his new found role behind Hernandez in between midfield and attack,
United’s veteran manager decided to retain his 4-4-1-1 formation.
To be continued in part 2...
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