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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

...second balls to transition or retain possession, then an eyebrow must be raised. The situation has been the same since the start of the season: no evolution, just regression.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Additionally, that direct approach and hoofing long balls is reminiscent of Mbappé first game with Real Madrid against Atalanta Gasperini. It's the same intent. There isn't an issue of playing long balls. However, when you don't have targets to battle for aerial duels, or a plan to latch onto...

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

He just gives up possession and his starting line-up is a prime example of what game he wants to play against Roma. The problem lies when you neither can be dominant on the ball nor you can be intense and compact off the ball.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Real Madrid JOSE MOURINHO Stinks to an inexcusable level. Just an underdog mentality and approach to every game. The team is already unbalanced and his tactics and choices keep handicapping the team. No clear intentions, no collective approach to give the team an edge over opponents.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

They literally can score from difficult situations and low quality positions. That's what helped them win two UCLs in a row.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

There was a stark difference between Manchester City & Paris Saint-Germain's front players. Both can be dangerous in transitions and against settled defenses. However, the passing quality, carrying, dribbling, and especially finishing are where PSG's front line had the upper hand.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Bouaddi as a DM & Anderson as a CM should be the formula for Enzo Maresca, especially against teams that press in a m2m fashion. He can create separation, carry, dribble, resist contact, shield the ball, and pass. And most importantly, he maximises Anderson.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

... drop a shoulder, explosive, resist contact and shield the ball. Wirtz showed his true essence in small spaces, threading passes, wriggling out of traffic immaculately and putting teammates in good positions. Barcola is on fire with dribbling, positioning inside, combining, and finishing.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Some really good display from Nyoni, Ngumoha, Wirtz, and Barcola. Everything looks smooth for Liverpool (the quality between the teams is obvious though) Nyoni with some nice line-breaks to access the players BTLs. Ngumoha ability to drive at opponents,...

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Atlético Madrid - Manchester United analysis is up: —How ATM exploited MNU 4-2-4 high press to secure an early lead; —ATM switches to access wide overloads; —MNU backward passes to bait ATM & central overloads; —ATM found inroads around & down the HS; betweentheposts.net/atletico-mad...

betweentheposts.net

Atlético Madrid – Manchester United: No End In Sight for Manchester United Suffering (2-0)

The bleeding of Manchester United does not seem to have an end. Below-average individual performances and collective tactical shortcomings accelerate the fall of the Red Devils in games. This time, At...

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

—Easy to bait forward and exploit that vertical stretch to cut through. The same FB-CB gap is there for Atlético to commit a late runner.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

—It seems that fatigue and low physical level are wearing down the players, given they arrive late into the duel, cannot close down opponents quickly, the intensity is lacking in the counterpress, low quality passes and decisions.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

—Still Manchester United cannot find solutions against a low block regularly; —We said in the piece: not all forward options are optimal, looking around and assessing is more functional than just playing a forward pass to nowhere and losing possession quickly;

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Nothing is rectified after the international break from Michael Carrick: —Thought the end of the 4-2-4 was after the Hull & Everton games for the vulnerabilities that come with it (you can play over or find a bounce pass into spaces around the DPs);

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Reposted by ACHRAF

Martin Rafelt @martinrafelt.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

The Wirtz-situation is a train wreck. It's a mixture of wrong expectations, incorrect role and playstyle, resulting confidence issues. And, tragically, it looks as if his teammates *don't want to play with him.* None of these are mega bad, but they're adding up. Thread:

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Before talking about the brilliance of Rayan Cherki in the goal, it's worth noting that stairs (escadinha) formed of Anderson, Cherki, Gvardiol & the shadowpass from Cherki that enabled the ball to move progressively from an altitude to another in a such clogged area.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

That explosive cut inside & quick feet from Jeremy Doku allow him to create separation and curl that silky Coutinho/Robben-esque shot toward the top right of the net.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

It's not that simple as Gravenberch or Modric makes it look like. It really requires a high level of agility, change of direction ability, acceleration, ballistic control, high quality first touch, elite scanning & anticipation. Every bullet point of Athleticism must be ticked.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Ryan Gravenberch is just a fantastic midfielder when it comes to evading pressure. He's always on a half-turn position, assessing the direction of pressure, then he nudges the ball into space, or flicks it around his marker, or leaves it roll to get into at the back of pressure.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

On why Manchester United cannot control a positive game state. Similar events keep occurring after taking the lead against Everton twice, against Brighton, and now against Tottenham.

From the "Left open to variance" section of "What Ails Manchester United"

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

There is no individual that can step in and suddenly Manchester United would look better while the collective scheme and tactics don't provide them with the conditions to maximise their input. It might mitigate United problems & woes. However, it'd not fulfill the whole potential.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Hence, United resorted to more long balls, passes to Lammens while he's under pressure which led to more long clearances. What made it worse is that nobody can win the aerial duel and the team is shattered to latch onto second balls.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

The only positive of Manchester United before international break was the midfield ability to connect the dots. Tottenham stripped that off by applying an intense pressure on them from behind and from the front (Solanke drops or Savio narrows inside).

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

What Ails Manchester United With the help of mygameplan.ai data, here is an excavation into the reasons behind Manchester United's slow start to the season, weaknesses, coaching shortcomings, collective & individual woes & consequences of the transfer market. lamdarhri.substack.com/p/what-ails-...

lamdarhri.substack.com

What Ails Manchester United

An excavation into the reasons behind Manchester United’s slow start to the season, weaknesses, coaching shortcomings, collective & individual woes, and the consequences of the transfer market.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The team cannot really prevent opponents from accessing those numerical weaknesses. Probably, shifting into man-marking high press seems a good solution as the players have simple roles to execute and clear references to take charge off.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Manchester United high press really looks primitive. The team cannot close off passing lanes. Carrick usually wants to maintain the numerical superiority at the backline, which means that the team is overloaded somewhere on the pitch.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I add that the team is so forward minded that it goes beyond limits and leads to quick possession loss and the team finds itself obliged to defend whereas slowing down a bit and getting into a more organised shape in possession and waiting for the right moment to play the forward pass seems optimal.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Manchester United is so fixated to central progression, so mistakes that are the result of a subpar decision, loose or heavy touch is usually punished via a transition.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

What surprised me (shocking) when rewatching Manchester United games is the lack of some basics that really hinders the team either in progression or in the final third. The decision making is really below the average. The first touch isn't clean, players are chasing their first touch.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Mbeumo is used as a runner to attack spaces in behind and stretch opponents vertically, and he's not a 1v1 specialist. This was again a missed opportunity for Manchester United in the summer because it'd be a real upgrade to how the team attacks in the final third.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The positioning of Manchester United double false nines around the opponent's midfield and the asymmetrical fullbacks generate regular 1v1 situations for the wingers. However, Man Utd don't have wide players who can provide qualitative superiority, bar Amad Diallo & to some extent, Marcus Rashford.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Add to that Hansi Flick approach—even if it's flawed and can be exploited by teams with high quality—revolves around controlling everything with the ball. Adding Rodri to the mix is helping the team dominate every aspect of the In Possession phases.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Barcelona model suits better La Liga because the players complement each others, and the quality is there across the three lines to exert maximum control against La Liga teams.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The coach ideas are outdated given how the gap between Real Madrid/Barcelona & the rest of La Liga teams expanded since he last coached in Spain. Real Madrid cannot dominate teams with possession or control them out of possession.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Real Madrid problems reside in the players & the coach at the same time. Some players ability limit the team's ceiling, others impact negatively the balance of the team.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

This is exactly how Hürzeler set up Brighton against Arsenal. They prevented them from playing their game, especially in the early phases, by applying a well-coordinated and intense high press. It's safe to say Brighton "Iraola"ed Arsenal.

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Reposted by ACHRAF

ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Chema Andrés does similar things to Rodri. Anticipation, proactive, clean way of tackling (to retain the ball), reads the situation well to mop up loose and second balls, aerial threat offensively & defensively.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Brighton are extremely good at pulling apart opponents vertically. Really nice deeper movements from Kostoulas to drag Konsa & find that access pass into the space BTLs.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

During Manchester United's periods of passivity, Brighton resorted to backward passing to break down United's shape. Baiting the front and midfield line & pinning the backline created a hole BTLs for Brighton to find that pass into the gap generated.

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Reposted by ACHRAF

ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I used mygameplan.ai physical data and broke it down into out-of-possession and in-possession sections. Manchester United's off-ball stats are so worrying. It's no wonder Manchester United arrives late when pressing or when retreating. The physical, technical, and tactical sides impact one another.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Against Everton, Manchester United conceded the draw at the end. & against Brighton found themselves in a negative game state and in a situation Manchester United don't like to be in and don't have the right players for, or the tactical edge to come up against low blocks.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

When you don't keep the ball, opt to defend, and you can't defend, then there is a big problem, because you neither can protect the lead nor can you try to consolidate it. That's exactly what Manchester United does under winning game states.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Manchester United got into a positive game state and then went totally passive against the ball by sitting deep with zero transitional threat. 2-0 is just a tricky result. You concede the first goal, and then the opposing team gains momentum.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Shea Lacey finish was immaculate: use of the arms, reverse angle, medium close to low height of the shot.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

In the Premier League, Brighton tend to concede more goals in the first 15 minutes of the game. They conceded three goals. Nice goal from Man Utd, gathering play on the left, quick passes to switch & isolate Lacey on the right.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Max Dowman lives off disguise. He keeps the ball very close to his feet, a good reaction to the defender's step-up. I like, specifically here, how he stops and then gets into the space behind the CB (Kipré). And then finished on the opposite side of where the GK went. Extremely unpredictable.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Everything in football is interrelated. What you do when you have the ball impacts how you defend out of possession and vice-versa.

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ACHRAF @lamdarhriachraf.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Playing at a fast tempo without finishing off chances means that the ball comes back at you at the same speed you lost it. That means your lines are loosened up, stretched, and you need more time to get into a compact shape which the opponents don't give you.

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