On May 22, the final battle of the UEFA Cup this season is about to begin, and Manchester United Hotspur will compete fiercely for the championship trophy. This season, these two teams are in a very bad state and are currently only ranked lower in the Premier League. Compared with the strength in people's memory, they are not at the same level. Amorin and Aobo are under great pressure. Winning the championship is not only a way to save face, but also the key to maintaining the coach position. For the business strategies of the two teams, whoever wins the trophy will be qualified to advance to the Champions League and will attract celebrities to join. It can be said that it is a certain present and a future. In addition, this trophy is of great significance to many players. For example, Son Heung-min, who has played for Tottenham for many years, will it be broken on this night? Just like Kane.
Prematch status: Can the poor league record be offset by the Europa League?
For Manchester United and Tottenham, the Premier League performance this season is extremely bleak. After the 37th round, the two teams only scored 39 and 38 points. This data is really embarrassing. It is ranked 16th and 17th in the competition, which is a brother in trouble. For Amorin and Postkoglu, this is a shame without any excuse to clear it up. In comparison, they performed well in the European game this season, both of which reached the finals, with Manchester United defeating Athletic Bilbao, and almost did not give their opponents much chance; Tottenham deserved the elimination of Bodesh, which is a testament to the value of its BIG 6.
In addition to the two teams performing poorly in local competitions, their star performance this season is not very good. Manchester United's new double-gun Hoylund and Zilker have not proved themselves, and they are almost on the verge of leaving the team at the end of the season; Tottenham are not much better either. Son Heung-min's old attitude, Madison's injury, and unreliability in the middle have jointly "formed" the countdown. Before the game, both teams also encountered serious injuries. Tottenham opportunity maker Kulusevsky and Madison were sure to miss the game. Manchester United's Dalot and Lisandro were injured, while Dricht and Yoro were in observation. The entire back defense was injured, and Amorin was under great pressure.
Importance: It is related to the next development. Since it is the final, many aspects will restrict the state and performance of the two teams. Tactics is a very important issue, but not all issues. In addition to his poor condition this season, it needs to be proved urgently, it has higher value to Manchester United and Tottenham than in competitive terms.
For Manchester United, Amorin's speech before the game was heartbreaking. He said that this is the worst Manchester United in history, and the results he led the team were a shame. Manchester United should not be in this position. Although his frankness has indeed aroused positive reviews from Manchester United fans, this is the fact; the matters that will be triggered next are likely to be worrying. Some media said that if Amorin loses the Europa League, he may think about leaving office.
Secondly, as a giant, Manchester United recorded its last important trophy in 2016/17 (not counting in domestic cups), and now it has been around for almost ten years. This is almost unacceptable for a wealthy family. Winning the Europa League is a boost of confidence for them and a new starting point; if they lose, it is just the opposite. La Jue was given a proposal of distrust by Glaze. If they cannot get the trophy, they will probably be difficult to get support when they transfer to the summer window.
Since we talked about the last championship, we have to mention Son Heung-min. After entering the new century, Tottenham almost never had a relationship with the heavy trophy, and this was even more so after he joined. Kane left and won the Bundesliga championship trophy at Bayern. Now, it’s Son Heung-min’s turn to realize his dream?
It should be noted that the Europa League champion is eligible to get a UEFA Champions League promotion, which means too much for Manchester United and Tottenham. In the next transfer window, whether there is a Champions League qualification is directly linked to whether it can attract superstars to join. There is no need to say much about the value here.
Amorin's thoughts: Remove him or give him a last chance?
For Manchester United, the main problem this season is that they have weak offense, and they have scored 42 goals in 37 rounds of the league, which is the level of a relegation team. Almost none of the midfield players in the team performed well, especially the newly bought double guns in the transfer window, Hoylund and Zilkze, who were highly expected. Since the Dutch were injured at the end of the season and missed the opportunity to continue playing, all the pressure was given to Hoylund.
According to the regular idea, as Manchester United's No. 9 center, he should be the first to play in such a level of games. However, he is in a very poor state this season and may be taken away by Amorin. According to reports from the Manchester Evening Post and several English media, in the pre-match training class, Amorin was thinking about arranging a pseudo-forward tactics to replace Hoylund. In addition, Hoylund was officially pushed into the transfer window and will be sold.
Amorin's idea is to arrange Bruno Fernandez, Menu and others to play guest center, play a pseudo-9, run back and forth to adapt and connect with the frontcourt, and then complete the setting of the club's independent offensive system. Compared to Hoylund, this system will naturally have better mobility. Bruno and Maynu were originally from midfield and are more familiar with the ideas of their teammates behind them, so their tacit understanding will also improve.
In addition, whether it is Bruno's shot (especially long shots) or Maynu's confidence, in comparison, is more direct than Hoylund's timidity. The problem with the most criticism of the Danes in the competition is that they are not fierce enough and are too "selfless". No one gives you so many opportunities in the competition. Therefore, from this point of view, the effect of changing the array may be better for Amorin.
If Amorin will arrange this, then Casemiro and Ugat provide defense, and Diallo and Garnacho are responsible for the assault. Overall, the effect is quite good. In addition, Hoylund can also bring a plan B on the bench. If it cannot be opened, he may be able to work as a siege hammer.
Bruno completed the second most winning ball rights this season. This is a test of his shooting with Maynu's help.
Asia's No. 1 and Trophy: Pressure is also motivation
For Tottenham, there may not be so many "opportunities". In the absence of Kulusevsky and Madison, Son Heung-min himself had to shoulder the entire offensive responsibility. Since Solank is a big center player, Son Heung-min is not only responsible for shooting this time, but also creating opportunities to connect with the shooter, creating enough space. The Korean captain has been in average form in recent games (0 goals and 0 assists in 5 games), and I don’t know how he will adjust himself in this game.
However, the motivation is full. 32-year-old Son Heung-min is still in the 0 championships in important events. Compared with his personal strength and past performance, this is really "unmatched". Fortunately, many magical stories have happened this season. Old friend Kane broke through the wasteland, Newcastle, Crystal Palace, and Bologna have also completed their first championship crown in many years. This is an opportunity for Son Heung-min.
From a tactical perspective, Son Heung-min is likely to encounter encirclement from Mazravi and Lindelov, if Amorin really plays the frontless formation. Then, Manchester United will probably be in an overall state of movement when attacking. Mazravi, who already has a greater assist strength than defensive ability, will probably be very up-to-earth. In this way, the gap between him and Lindelof will be a good opportunity. If Son Heung-min can wander here, hit the opponent's ribs and create a threat, it will probably make Manchester United uncomfortable.
For example, when the two teams met Manchester United in the first leg of the Premier League, they suffered a 0-3 defeat, and were repeatedly broken by their opponents by creating opportunities in the ribs. This will be the key issue for Amorin's next defense.
For example, when the two teams met in the League Cup, Manchester United almost suppressed Tottenham. They had an advantage, but were defeated by their old rivals quickly counterattacked and lost 3-4.
Secondly, Tottenham's front midfielder position is likely to be occupied by young player Odobay. If he can fill up the position for Son Heung-min and encourage the captain to insert and complete a parallel position with Sollot during the offense, then Tottenham has the opportunity to switch from the 4-2-3-1 system to this 4-4-2 system. In this way, Manchester United, who has many injuries, will inevitably be in chaos on the back end. Whether it is man-to-man defense or regional defense, it will be restricted by Tottenham's lineup change.
Spurs' forward position is very clear
Therefore, whether a similar effect can be achieved is also the key to whether Tottenham can limit Manchester United.
However, it is difficult to "smack" the opponent by just offense in the finals. Son Heung-min is not as good as in the past when he gets older. Therefore, if he does not retreat in time, how to make up for his position is a difficult problem. If Manchester United plays in a strikeless formation, it is estimated that speeding up will be their choice, and Aobo will give a plan.
High-level tactical game: it is also patience
Although Tottenham defeated Manchester United three times in the season, except for the 3-0 victory in the first game, the two sides were almost indistinguishable in the remaining two games and their strength was close. This is even more so in this Europa League encounter, which is related to the championship and no one will be too careless. Interestingly, Manchester United Hotspur’s performance in the UEFA Cup is almost the “two teams” and his performance in the league, especially the difference between the coach’s tactical thinking, which is worth pondering.
In comparison, Manchester United will arrange forward retreat tactics in the Cup, whether it is Hoylund Zilker's double center retreat, attracting the center back to follow, or collectively pressing on speed, their action is the basis for defeating the opponent. Retracement, attraction, big feet, and then shaping more and less advantages are Amorin's ideas.
In contrast, Tottenham Hotspur came up with the foundation of defense in the competition. They were contrary to their wild offensive mode in the past, but instead "retracted". However, this did bring good results. Tottenham's defense was stable with collective retreat, and their counterattack was very effective with the help of speed. The shining game against Bilbao and Bode created good results for the correctness of the two teams. I believe they will continue to play like this in the final.
For this reason, Manchester United's main attack and how to break intensive defense will be a challenge; Tottenham's main defense and how to hit the counterattack rate is a problem.
In addition, Manchester United scored 13 times in the 70-90 minutes, accounting for nearly half of the UEFA Cup goals; on the contrary, Tottenham conceded 6 goals at this time point, accounting for half of the number of goals conceded. In contrast, patience may be an important factor in winning.
(Li Pengpeng)