Statman Dave's video: How Man Utd Can Beat Atletico Madrid

Welcome back! With Manchester United about to take on Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Last 16, join me as I take a look at how Ralf Rangnick’s Man Utd can beat Diego Simeone’s struggling Atletico. ► SUBSCRIBE to STATMAN DAVE: http://bit.ly/StatmanDaveYoutube This season Atletico Madrid have been all over the place and have lost 7 of their last 13 matches in all competitions. Earlier this year they used a variety of back 3 shapes but recently we’ve seen Simeone try back 4 variations to find some balance. But in this tie, expect a return to the 4-4-2. Despite their topsy turvy form, Atletico Madrid are still a top side and have the star quality to cause problems for anybody on their day. Not as mobile as he once was, Luis Suarez will still cause major problems, Koke can play all kinds of defence splitting passes whilst Joao Felix is excellent in 1 v 1 contests. Engaging the Portuguese international before he gets into the box is crucial and if he’s allowed to cut onto his right foot he’ll cause big problems for David de Gea. That being said, the loss of Yannick Carrasco is massive for Atletico who is suspended for both legs following a red card against FC Porto. ► CHECK US OUT ON TWITCH: http://bit.ly/SMDTwitch So how can Manchester United beat them? Barcelona combined a narrow possession shape with extremely wide, wide men to turn Simeone's shape on him. Xavi did this by using Dani Alves in an inverted role, stepping into midfield and overloading the central space. This in turn created dangerous 1 v 1 situations with right winger, Adama Traoré up against left back, Hermoso. Manchester United should look to do something similar using Diogo Dalot as the inverted right back and Jadon Sancho as the dribbling winger. Barcelona also managed to get a lot of joy by using a fluid left hand side to create confusion amongst Atletico’s players. Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Jordi Alba freely interchanged positions to unsettle Simeone’s man to man defending. This often left one, usually the left back, unmarked and free to make runs in behind to be found by long passes. The freedom offered to these players also helped to play around Atletico’s high press with the Catalans creating a midfield U and overloading Atletico’s midfielders. Manchester United not only have the players to make this work but those players are the ones in form, with Fred, who brings energy & tenacity, scoring the winner against Leeds, and Paul Pogba, who adds guile and will help to overload the midfield, has been in fine form under Rangnick. Statman Dave Clips ➡ http://bit.ly/StatmanClips We’ve also seen Atletico get carved apart centrally with quick passing combinations this season. The Spaniards seem to have lost a bit of aggression or energy compared to last season and opposition players seem to find more space in and around their midfield. When these attackers receive, Atletico’s centre backs step out to engage which can leave a big hole in their shape. Cristiano Ronaldo’s ability to link the play as a false 9 could be crucial in exploiting Atletico’s soft centre. This isn’t going to be an easy tie for Manchester United. Stubborn low blocks have caused United problems for years and Atletico Madrid’s is one of the best in the business. However goalkeeper Jan Oblak has gone from being the best shot stopper around Europe last season to the second worst. If United can keep Suarez and Felix quiet, their star quality, improving performances under Ralf Rangnick and the form of Jan Oblak alone could see United progress to the Champions League quarter finals. But anyway guys what do you think? How do you see this tie going and what are your predictions? Let me know in the comments below. Socials: 🐦Twitter: https://twitter.com/StatmanDave 📸Instagram: http://bit.ly/StatmanInsta 🖥See more at https://statmandave.com ________________________________________________________________________ Tropics by tubebackr https://soundcloud.com/tubebackr Creative Commons — Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/al-tropics Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/ZEQKWb5A1qw