Derby Defeat Magnified Doubts of Rooney & Pogba Roles for United

There will come a day when Wayne Rooney ceases to lie at the heart of every tactical conversation, when his performance is not the main issue before and after every game, but it is not here yet. He didn’t play especially well on Saturday in the Manchester Derby, but in a sense his ineffectiveness was less significant than what his presence did for the rest of the side. 

The main tactical question in the build-up to the game had been whether Jose Mourinho would do what he did four times against Pep Guardiola in Spain and use a 4-3-3 formation rather than a 4-2-3-1. Three of those instances came immediately after Real Madrid’s 5-0 defeat to Barca and seemed designed essentially to try to stop Barca playing; it was widely assumed, and turned out to be the case, that Mourinho would not be so reactive so early in his Manchester United career, not given City were yet to reach the levels of slickness a Guardiola side can achieve. 

And besides, if Mourinho did opt for his “trivote” of holding midfielders, where would Rooney play? But preferring the 4-2-3-1 proved a critical miscalculation. City’s dominance in the first half felt like the Champions League game in 2013 in which Bayern Munich had humiliated them for the bulk of the game before winning 3-1. At half-time, City had had 354 passes to United’s 183. Significantly,
indicating how effective their press was and how well they won the ball back, they made 12 tackles to United’s 14, despite having had so much more of the ball. 

The problem was Rooney. Or rather, the problem was what having Rooney in the side did to the shape elsewhere and, especially, to Paul Pogba. With Raheem Sterling and Nolito staying wide, United’s back four was stretched as Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia had to guard against them rather than playing as narrow as they would presumably have liked. 

That, inevitably, increased the pressure on Pogba and Marouane Fellaini at the back of midfield. David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, in their free eight roles, ran the game before half-time, noticeably focusing their efforts on the channels wide of the two United holders and in front of and inside the two full-backs, who were constantly being dragged away from their central defenders by the presence of City’s wingers. 

Mourinho countered that at half-time, bringing off Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard, who, given neither had previously started a league game this season, had presumably been included primarily for the pace they offered on the break, and bringing on Ander Herrera and Marcus Rashford, pushing Rooney wide. The effectiveness of the strategy was seen in the diminished roles of City’s two inside forwards, although De Bruyne ultimately took up a false nine role once Kelechi Iheanacho went off: Silva made 41 passes in the first half and De Bruyne 29. In the second half, they made 32 and 26 respectively. 

But what was staggering was Pogba’s ineffectiveness from a defensive point of view. It’s true that United’s tactical failings left him with a lot to do, but he made only one tackle in the first half and two in the second, when he was able to play on the left side of a central three, which always looks the position in which he is happiest. He made just one interception in each half. 

Even when Pogba joined United, the question was asked of how he could play with Rooney when he has always prospered to the side of a central midfield three, whether in a 3-5-2 or a 4-3-3, while Rooney seems to need to be the advanced central creator in a 4-2-3-1. Those doubts were only magnified on Saturday.

What is the best system for Jose Mourinho to bring out the best in Paul Pogba and Wayne Rooney? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below