SB Nation 2010-11 UEFA Champions League
+10
It's become modus operandi for Alex Ferguson, who again deflated the match in the first leg of a Champions League tie.
After a month long layoff with a knee injury, Marseille fan favorite Mathieu Valbuena has entered L'OM's UEFA Champions League game with Manchester United in the 79th minute, replacing Loic Remy. Remy had a solid game and ran his socks off between the second half kickoff and his substitution, but that surge seemed to consume all of his energy. Completely spent, Remy has now been replaced by Valbuena, who slots into a right forward role.
It will be interesting to see how fit Valbuena is and if he looks himself in the final 10 minutes of the game. Didier Deschamps had to strike the delicate balance between not wearing out his star and allowing him enough time to have some kind of an impact on the game. Valbuena has declared to the media that he is fit enough to start a match, but Deschamps was obviously skeptical and has only given him just over 10 minutes to try to influence the game tonight.
On the other side of the field, Manchester United have done much better with passing and keeping the ball since the introduction of Paul Scholes. They're starting to look more ambitious going forward, but it could be too little, too late.
Didier Deschamps isn't quite going for the jugular with a Mathieu Valbuena for defensive midfielder switch, but he has made an ambitious change in Marseille's UEFA Champions League match against Manchester United. Benoit Cheyrou, an athletic and dynamic central midfielder, has entered the game for defensive midfielder Edouard Cisse. Manchester United have made an ambitious attacking change of their own, bringing on the creative and slick passing veteran Paul Scholes for the athletic Darron Gibson, who did not have a good game for the Red Devils.
As open as this game has been in the second half, these two changes should open it up even more. Scholes and Cheyrou are much better passers and much less defensive minded than the two men they replaced, something both teams needed to add to the center of their respective midfields. Expect more through balls, quicker play, and more space in attacking positions in the middle, going either way. All of these things should hopefully lead to more chances.
The first 15 minutes of the second half has been much more open than the first 15 minutes of the first half of the UEFA Champions League match between Marseille and Manchester United, featuring a lot more determination and forward thinking from Andre Ayew and Lucho Gonzalez for Marseille. The hosts have been the much better and much more ambitious side so far in the second half, and Alex Ferguson will be thinking about changes he can make.
One player on his bench that could make a serious influence is Paul Scholes. United have not been passing well to start the half, and their lack of creativity in the center of midfield looks like it could be catching up with them. Their one-trick pony offense, hitting through balls to Nani, appears to have lost its effect. The introduction of Scholes could go a long way towards getting Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney more involved in the game.
On the other side, the home fans let out a massive cheer when Mathieu Valbuena got off the bench to warm up, and he could be a great substitute if Deschamps feels like going for the jugular.
Coming into his side's UEFA Champions League match with Marseille, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was probably thinking that if Didier Deschamps was going to gift him a 0-0 draw, he was content with taking that and trying to win at the Theater of Dreams in the second leg. With two defensive midfielders and Gabriel Heinze in the L'OM lineup, this may in fact be the case. Unsurprisingly, Marseille and the Red Devils have walked into halftime tied up at 0-0, but despite the score and the lack of attempts on goal, it's a pretty fascinating fixture.
The reason it's a fascinating fixture is because it has serious chess match potential. There are so many things that both Alex Ferguson and Didier Deschamps can do to spice up this tie and guide the play towards the game they want to play and the result they want to obtain. Are both managers truly content with a 0-0 draw tonight? Will Deschamps continue with Heinze and two defensive midfielders? Will Ferguson continue with Dimitar Berbatov alone up top and Paul Scholes on the bench? Who knows.
The first act was well composed and did a decent job of building suspense, but it was a standard issue first half of a Champions League tie between two teams like United and Marseille. The second act could have a bit of a serious plot twist.
The first 15 minutes of the UEFA Champions League match between Marseille and Manchester United appeared to be settign the stage for a tight 0-0 draw without a ton of action, save for Nani's runs, but the following 15 minutes have been a completely different story, setting up what looks like it could be a very entertaining game. The play has opened up a little bit, with Marseille looking to run at United's defenders on the counter-attack quite a bit more than they did at the start.
United appear to have recognized that they were getting sucked into a game they didn't necessarily want to play and have put more emphasis on possession in the last minute, but both sides are still looking considerably more ambitious than they did to start the game.
Marseille are starting to figure out that attacking United's right side on the counter-attack could be a good idea, but Nani is surprisingly tracking back well and making life hard on Andre Ayew. Lucho Gonzalez is doing a bit of drifting over to that side to help out, but the swarming of United's central midfielder is still limiting his influence. Meanwhile, every neutral and L'OM fan watching the match is praying for the introduction of Taye Taiwo in the second half.
Unsurprisingly, Manchester United's Nani has been the most influential player early on in their UEFA Champions League match against Marseille, and his teammates have taken notice, getting him the ball on a regular basis. Despite the presence of Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra on the left, one of the most left leaning sides in the world has flipped the pitch a bit early, regularly trying long balls and through balls towards Nani on the right flank. They've attempted this about five times in the first 15 minutes, and Gabriel Heinze has only been around to contest him once.
Going in the other direction, the combination of Manchester United's athletic and solid tackling midfield with Marseille's defensive midfielders has left Lucho Gonzalez to do a little more than he's capable of. Gonzalez is a great player who can have a lot of impact on a game with his creativity, but he's getting swarmed when he can get on the ball and getting little help.
From the "Department of Pleasant Surprises," John O'Shea and Chris Smalling are playing well, and Andre Ayew has not had a major impact on the game thus far.
Looking at the lineup Didier Deschamps has selected for Marseille's UEFA Champions League match against Manchester United, it's a bit hard to follow exactly what the Frenchman is attempting to accomplish today at Stade Velodrome. He's selected Gabriel Heinze at left back ahead of Taye Taiwo, while preferring Charles Kabore to Benoit Cheyrou, setting up with two defensive midfielders in front of his back line. With two defensive midfielders in the lineup, as well as the defensive-minded Heinze over the athletic, attack-minded Taiwo, it seems like Deschamps is playing for a 0-0 draw.
However, there are a few problems with this. With United playing a midfield three of Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, and Darron Gibson, the presence of two defensive midfielders seems to be entirely unnecessary, even if 0-0 is the goal. Additionally, even if Marseille is spot on tactically, the matchup between Nani and Heinze is a scary one. Even if Taiwo is a worse defender than Heinze and more likely to get caught up the pitch, it seems like his athleticism alone makes him the right choice against Nani. The chances of Heinze avoiding getting his ankles broken for 90 minutes is low.
Obviously, Didier Deschamps is a great manager and former player, while I'm just a dude on his couch, but it's hard to make sense of what he's trying to do.
Marseille has been given a boost by the fitness of Brandão and Loïc Rémy, but set to start today's match against Manchester United. That's not to say Didier Deschamps is without surprises. Rod Fanni will start at right back, pushing Charles Kaboure into midfield, with Stephane Mbia apparently set to start along side Souleymane Diawara in central defense. Gabriel Heinze goes out to the left, making Tayo Taiwo the sacrificed player. Benoit Cheyrou is also, surprisingly, on the bench.
Those are a lot of changes from the weekend, and while those are all capable and experienced players, it all looks too reactionary. Not only does it leave a lead-footed Heinze to match-up against Nani, but it also portends a shift away from a 4-3-3. With André Ayew wide left and a versatile Rémy right, this could play as a 4-2-X-Y, with Lucho in the playmaking role. Whether it's 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-1-3, we'll have to see. Honestly, it's already making my head hurt, a bit.
Here's Marseille's full team. The lineup is an educated guess. There are a number of ways Deschamps could deploy this group:
Marseille, Starting XI: Steve Mandanda - Rod Fanni, Souleymane Diawara, Stephane Mbia, Gabriel Heinze - Charles Kaboure, Edouard Cisse - Lucho Gonzalez - Loic Remy, Brandão, Andre Ayew
Marseille Bench: Elinton Andrade, Taye Taiwo, Hilton, Benoit Cheyrou, Jordan Ayew, Mathieu Valbuena, Fabrice Abriel
As is their want in Champions League, Manchester United is set to play 4-5-1, and as we only subtly hinted in our injury update, Wayne Rooney looks set to be deployed wide left. Dimitar Berbatove gets the start up top, with the only other surprise being Darren Gibson's inclusion over Paul Scholes. But even that is a minor surprise, with the rest of United's team somewhat predictable.
Manchester United, Starting XI: Edwin van der Sar - John O'Shea, Chris Smalling, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra - Nani, Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Darron Gibson, Wayne Rooney - Dimitar Berbatov
Manchester United Bench: Tomasz Klusczak, Paul Scholes, Wes Brown, Javier Hernández, Fabio da Silva, Rafael da Silva, Gabriel Obertan
The lineups are a boon for United. Deschamps has chosen as conservative a side as he could have reasonably selected, even sacrificing Taiwo as a danger man at left back. For a United team that will be more than content going back to Old Trafford 0-0, Deschamps' is lending a helping hand.
Ahead of today's UEFA Champions League match at the Stade Velodrome, Marseille's ability to feature a full attack against Manchester United is still in doubt. André-Pierre Gignac has already been ruled out, while fellow attackers Brandão and Loïc Rémy face late fitness tests. Mathieu Valbuena should be back, but in a reduced (substitute) role.
Manchester United is not without their own injury problems. Neither Rio Ferdinand nor Ryan Giggs made the trip to Marseille, while Anderson is out long term. Rafael da Silva is also a doubt for today's match, adding to an injury list which includes Park Ji-Sung and Antonio Valencia.
Here are Marseille and Manchester United's full injury lists as well as how each absence may effect the clubs:
André-Pierre Gignac - The France international is out for two weeks after suffering a groin injury this weekend. Usually starting to the left of central striker Brandão, Gignac would be the perfect person to try and exploit Chris Smalling (if Marseille were to try to isolate the inexperienced defender). Now, André Ayew will get the start, perhaps giving l'OM slightly better play in wide areas. But Ayew is no Gignac.
Brandão, Loïc Rémy - Both strikers had to leave in the second half of this weekend's match with ankle problems. While both were thought doubts, it looks like each will play, with Brandão being the more certain of the two. Brandão, a handful in the air with the elbows of a hockey player, could also try to exploit Smalling, while Rémy's absence would eliminate l'OM's best player toward the right flank. Jordan Ayew would be the next attacker off the bench, with Fabrrice Abriel, normally more of a midfielder, the final option.
Mathieu Valbuena - The diminutive midfielder has declared himself fit, recovering from a January knee injury. Didier Deschamps is not so sure. The Marseille coach has said Valbuena will start on the bench, but if Rémy and Brandão both fail to start, Valbuena may be pressed into action.
Rio Ferdinand - Ferdinand has missed most of February with a calf injury. He didn't even make the trip to Marseille, and with Jonny Evans out with an ankle problem Smalling will start to the right of Nemanja Vidic. For United supporters, a group that seems to have become disillusioned with Evans' performance, Smalling represents a silver lining.
Ryan Giggs - What, exactly, is the problem with Ryan Giggs? It's difficult to know, as there have no been consistent reports. What we do know: He's not even in France. While it's tempting to say the unexplained absence means Alex Ferguson is merely giving Giggs some time off, that reason seems unlikely, given injuries to other wide players. For example ...
Park Ji-Sung, Antonio Valencia - Valencia's ankle and Park's international service have kept them out of the United team so long that their continued absences are not a new issue. Yet, with Giggs out for the match, their unavailability may force Gabriel Obertan into the team or Wayne Rooney into a wide role. Rooney's been used wide in Champions League before, particularly when United merely want a clean sheet. Not that such a deployment wouldn't still surprise.
Rafael and Fabio da Silva - The twin Brazilian full backs are both doubts, though as kick-off approaches, most reports have the duo out. Each picked-up knocks this weekend against Crawley Town, though only Rafael's absence should effect this match. At best, Fabio would have been on the bench, and Rafael may have been the same, though with his co-first choice right back out, Ferguson will be forced to use John O'Shea at right back.
Anderson - Anderson's energy makes him a preferred choice in Champions League, but with him out for two months, Ferguson again sees his options limited. Don't be surprised if Darron Gibson comes into the starting XI. At a minimum, the Ireland international will make the bench.
Michael Owen - Shocking, I know. Owen's injured. This time, it's a groin problem. When healthy, Owen is almost always on the bench and a valuable late-match substitute. In a match that could be 0-0 well into the second half, he could have had a role. Instead, we're likely to see Joshua King on the bench.
We tend to think of Manchester United as a monolithic entity, often just referring to them as United, though they are certainly not the only club bearing that label. In reality, United can be quite paradoxical, often undermining their own reputation.
Take, for example, their style of play. While the Red Devils aren't considered footballing artistes like Barcelona and English Barcelona (a.k.a., Arsenal), they're still thought to have one of the more attractive approaches amongst UEFA's major leagues. Ask most who follow European football about entertaining clubs and it's unlikely United would lie far down an unbiased list, with words like progressive, ambitious, and aggressive often associated with Alex Ferguson's tactics.
Yet in UEFA Champions League, when United opens a knockout round tie on the road, they go out of their way to contradict this reputation, typically employing very conservative tactics. Put more bluntly, United tends to be boring as hell when starting a tie away from Manchester.
The exemplar of this was United's 0-0 at the Nou Camp in 2008. That match saw Ferguson perfect the "bunker and hope" approach most have since employed against Barcelona. Infuriating to watch, it was approach that forever changed how many Barça fans think of Manchester United. But it also worked. United would go on to eliminate Barcelona and win Champions League.
The match is part of a six match stretch from 2007 to 2009 where United's opening, road legs averaged 1.3 goals. To be clear, that's both teams' combined goal total, United being shutout twice while keeping four clean sheets. They usually set-up in a 4-5-1, often playing their central midfielders deep, and unfortunately for those hoping their tactics would meet with negative reinforcement, United was almost always successful. On all six occasions, United advanced to the next round, going 2-3-1 in those first legs.
But then came last year, where everything changed. All of a sudden, Manchester United was being drawn into shootouts on the road, winning 3-2 over Milan before losing 2-1 at Bayern Munich. Is it a coincidence that United met with an early exit the same season their road performances saw an uptick in scoring? Probably, considering United's approach (particularly in the match at the Allianz Arena) was not appreciably different than the one that got a 0-0 result at Inter Milan in 2009. Still, there may be something to the idea of getting United out of their comfort zone, giving them reason to think themselves vulnerable. Perhaps United becomes a little less United-y when they have to engage in a shootout (lest an Arjen Robben wonder strike send them home early).
Which brings us to Wednesday's match. Again, United is on the road to start a tie, and as was the case in 2007 and 2008, they start their knock-out phase in France. In those tournaments, the Red Devils started at Stade Gerland, putting up 1-0 and 1-1 results en route to comfortable defeats of French champions Olympique Lyonnais. This year, it's a different titlist, Olympique de Marseille, that will try and derail the Red Devils.
Coming off their first French championship since 1991-92, Marseille finished second to Chelsea in Group F, shaking-off an early, shock loss to Spartak Moscow, winning four of their last five group matches. Along the way, l'OM gave up only three goals, tied with a number of other clubs for the second best defensive record in group play.
For those hoping for goals Wednesday, that's bad news, given Manchester United allowed only one goal in group. In addition, Marseille is missing one of their main offensive threats, with Andre Pierre Gignac injured in weekend league action. His striker partners, Brandão and Loic Remy, are also hobbled, though each is expected to play. With Mathieu Valbuena limited to a substitute's role, Marseille seem ill-equipped to defy a defensive United.
And based on what we saw from Marseille in group play, a full strength team would have major problems unlocking United's defense. Against Chelsea, l'OM did get a 1-0 win at the Velodrome. But that result came in the sixth round, when Chelsea had already sewn up first place in the group. In their trip to Stamford Bridge, Marseille was convincingly beaten, 2-0.
Further complicating matters for l'OM is how Deschamps sets-up his team. Marseille have been staunchly 4-3-3 since early last season. And this isn't one of those 4-3-3/4-5-1 hybrids. This is a legitimate three forward attack, likely to feature Brandão, Remy and Andre Ayew on Wednesday.
More importantly, it's also a three midfielder set-up, with Edouard Cissé, Benoit Cheyrou and Lucho Gonzalez unlikely to vex a United midfield that may feature five, with Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher and Paul Scholes (possibly Darren Gibson) all playing deep, central roles. While Rio Ferdinand will be missing from central defense (and United's goal prevention rate has been markedly worse without him), it's difficult to see how Marseille will succeed where so many of United's previous opponents have failed. If United decides to congest the midfield in an effort to take a nil-nil back to Old Trafford, they're likely to keep a clean sheet.
At the other end of the pitch, Marseille have to stop Wayne Rooney and Nani, with the bulk of that responsibility falling on former United defender Gabriel Heinze and left back Taye Taiwo. Souleymane Daiwara, the right-center partner of Heinze, will also be important, but against a United attack that naturally tends to go right, Heinze's side will be too big a target to resist. The veteran Argentine's foot speed is suspect, and while Taiwo's athleticism will give him a better chance than most against Nani, Rooney using his speed against his former teammate - running through the channel opened when Taiwo is dealing with Nani - could represent the match's decisive match-up.
And in that way, this match is likely to be like United's 2007 trip to Stade Gerland or their 2008 trip to the Stadio Olimpico. In both cases United kept a clean sheet, scored on the road, and was able to employ a similar, measured, controlled approach at Old Trafford. They returned to England without the uncertainties that surrounded the second leg of last year's quarterfinal, able to execute a formula that's been tried-and-true ever since United missed the knockout round in 2006. If l'OM's to avoid their role in that equation, Deschamps' best hopes my be a bit of magic from Lucho, Brandão overpowering Chris Smalling, or something freakish.
And as those who have followed United's season know, freakish things have been all too frequent for this year's Red Devils. Sometimes Edwin van der Sar drops a ball and allows a team like West Bromwich Albion to get a result at Old Trafford. Sometimes United forgets how to defend set pieces and allows a team like Wolverhampton to ruin their undefeated league record. And more than sometimes - far too often, this season - United will give up an inexplicable late goal, costing them points they had pocketed.
The last four tournaments give us ample reason to believe United will get a clean sheet in Marseille, probably recording a goal along the way, ahead of a controlling win at Old Trafford. Yet there is something about this season's team that doesn't seem right, a weakness at the end of matches that gives hope to sides that would normally wilt beneath United's previously ruthless closing. For this year's United, history only tells us so much. It's another way Ferguson's team is undermining its own reputation, a way that may see Marseille happen upon a result.
Marseille Vs. Manchester United: 0-0 Full Time, A Good Match Sets Up A Great Second Leg
Manchester United and Marseille played to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League tie at Stade Velodrome, but it certainly was not a 0-0 draw of the vanilla and boring variety. Unlike many of the other Champions League round of 16 ties that have been defined by individual performances thus far, Didier Deschamps and Alex Ferguson were the stars of today's show, playing a great tactical chess match and getting to Old Trafford with a result that is hardly ideal for both sides, but that both sides can live with.
Marseille will be the slightly happier of the two sides, as they were the considerably better team in the second half. Manchester United struggled to pass the ball in until Paul Scholes was introduced around the 70 minute mark, while Marseille looked dangerous going forward. Andre Ayew and L'OM's defensive midfielders put in great shifts, though Lucho Gonzalez struggled to impact the game and his team struggled to create any true clear cut chances. Nani was very influential for Manchester United in the first half, but Gabriel Heinze had a much better second half than first half, and Nani struggled to do anything truly dangerous in the second 45 minutes.
Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, and Andre-Pierre Gignac should all be fit for the return leg of this tie in Manchester, setting up a possibly fantastic match. Tonight's match didn't have much in the way of flash and pizazz, but both teams can go back to their hotels thinking "mission accomplished."
Feb 23 4:44p by Kevin McCauley - 0 comments