Match Tactical: Manchester United vs West Ham United | OneFootball

Manchester United are set to kick off their Premier League Summer Series tour to the US when they take on West Ham United.

Coming off an understated goalless draw with Leeds United, Ruben Amorim’s men will surely look to be more effective in front of goal as they look to bring cheer to their American fanbase.

While Amorim will almost certainly look to rotate his squad with a flood of half-time substitutions, there are some common tactical decisions that the Man United manager should consider taking if he hopes to get the better of the Hammers in New Jersey.

Learning from past mistakes

During the Leeds game, we saw United take a barrage of shots, yet with little accuracy.

Out of their 18 attempts on goal, only four reached their target, while two unluckily hit the woodwork. (Sky Sports)

What’s particularly alarming about this statistic is that the vast majority of United’s chances came from the centre of the box, where players were facing the goal head-on, albeit at varying distances from the goal. A minority of chances, namely five, were taken from tight angles outside of the goalposts’ jurisdiction.

One could only hope that Amorim spotted this lack of shooting accuracy and has worked on it with his players during training. After all, it’s incredibly wasteful for his players to complete all of the necessary work to create 19 chances, only to fall at the final hurdle each and every time.

Although it may be important to reflect on the previous match, some bad habits from last season persist.

Speed things up

If one looks at the attacking momentum chart from the Leeds’ draw, we see how United continued a long-standing frustrating habit from last season.

With the exception of the final minutes of the second half, United’s attacking intensity was underwhelming, with the team very seldom bursting forward at a quick pace to knock Leeds’ defence off balance.

By exhibiting a slow build-up, they gave the opposition sufficient time to drop back and defend in comfort, squandering their chance to secure what should have been a straightforward win.

While Amorim’s starting lineup remains to be seen, it would be good for him to leverage the pace of his quickest attackers. These could be long-standing players such as Amad Diallo or new talents such as Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. Whoever ends up playing, Amorim should make the most of the fast legs at his disposal.

For United, this pre-season marks a moment of rebuild, with fans hoping that their club can bounce back from what was a lacklustre debut campaign under Amorim, to say the least. In addition to being achievable, a victory over West Ham would go a long way to restoring the confidence of an anxious fanbase that certainly deserves more to cheer about than what they’ve been receiving in recent times.

Featured image Linnea Rheborg via Getty Images

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