Brighton beat Manchester United – again.
United may have started the new season with a new manager in Erik ten Hag, but Graham Potter won the tactical battle again, taking Brighton to a 2-1 win at Old Trafford exactly four months after a 4-0 demolition of Amex guided.
Brighton’s staff and style were almost identical to last season’s win. Nine of the Amex starting XI were in a 3-box-3 formation at Old Trafford (the missing two, Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella, were sold).
A midfield box
The line-up was as follows: a base of two deeper central midfielders (a double pivot) with two advanced midfielders further up the top of the box. That makes for a valuable overload against United’s midfield two.
At Old Trafford, Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister formed the base while Pascal Gross and Adam Lallana headed the pits.
Brighton’s second goal came from that box combination.
Caicedo catalyzes the move with a straight pass past United midfield for Gross’ diagonal run as Brighton break from deep…
…and create a four-on-three attack.
Significantly, StatsBomb had finished as Brighton’s top three players for passing via FBref Lallana (34/39), Caicedo (29/36) and Mac Allister (26/31) and attempted at Old Trafford.
At Amex in May, Caicedo and Bissouma formed the base with Mac Allister and Gross at the helm.
In this match, the four boxers combined to form Brighton’s fourth.
Caicedo passes Bissouma…
… who finds Mac Allister. He breaks through United midfield to find Gross in space. All three passes are played with one or two touches – ball speed.
Danny Welbeck’s movement
Still on the fourth goal at Amex, Gross finds Welbeck with a through ball; The forward consistently times his runs well and curves his runs to stay on the side.
His chip goes in anyway, but Diego Dalot’s goal-line clearance bounces off Trossard.
Brighton lead 4-0 over Manchester United at AMEX… 😳pic.twitter.com/3Pd4fneMY7
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) May 7, 2022
The pass – again from Gross – and the run look almost identical to an attack on 14 minutes at Old Trafford. This time Welbeck slips in the penalty area and can’t take a shot, but the run is good.
Those runs were a constant threat in the first half and United were unable to defend them.
Welbeck’s movement was fundamental to Brighton’s opener; his run between Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez remains untouched. Welbeck then takes a touch to control it and a second to line it up for Gross.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbL9NV-dStU
Brighton scored 12 shots in the first half and Welbeck was directly involved at half-time (4 shots, 2 chances created).
The role of the (inverted) full-backs
Known for his tactical quirks, Potter’s 3-box-3 is underpinned by inverted full-backs: right-footed Trossard on the left, left-footed March on the right.
They push high and make a front three when pressing but fall into a flat five when defending in their own half – note Welbeck’s limited defensive responsibilities.
But they play a bigger role when Brighton are in possession. Trossard twice assisted in the home win and he and March helped set up both goals at Old Trafford.
Last time against @ManUtd… 👀💭 pic.twitter.com/nNlHhYonTX
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 7, 2022
Trossard, who plays on the left as a right-footed player, is better able to pass diagonally inwards.
Exhibit A: Diagonal pass to Welbeck’s straight run to the first goal.
For the second goal, March tackles Luke Shaw – on his weaker right – one on one.
David de Gea can only parry his shot at Gross. Two-zero Brighton.
High presses and press traps
In both games, Brighton pressed high in the first half.
The pressing structure was player by player in the central zones (see below how Bissouma pursues Bruno Fernandes) and full-backs would press United full-backs.
United’s setup remained the same – a back four plus Scott McTominay and Fred as a double pivot. The former is irregular in distribution and the latter lends itself better to playing in advanced areas than in deeper ones.
The Amex, 34 minutes: Mac Allister and Welbeck jump on a pass to McTominay…
… and Trossard force a turnover. He comes into the penalty area and shoots far.
Brighton even forced a turnover that ended in a shot at Old Trafford within the first 35 seconds.
“When we could, we tried to apply pressure and put pressure on them. Our performance in the first half was really strong,” said Graham Potter after full-time.
With difficulties in playing through, United had to play over or around the press. The former was less viable over longer distances due to De Gea’s kicking limitations – last year he ranked in the bottom 35 percent (38.4%) for the completion rate of passes launched.
United also didn’t have an outside ball from Ronaldo in the first half.
Old Trafford, eighth minute: Brighton push United back on De Gea. Gross leads the press, Welbeck is on the right.
Gross dodges to force De Gea to leave.
The second pressure line (Trossard and Welbeck) is positioned to pounce on short passes (red arrows).
De Gea’s only viable short pass is Fred. trap set…
… De Gea is trapped and Fred is forced to let go in one fell swoop given the pressure from Lallana. Trossard anticipates the pass to Dalot and intercepts in the penalty area.
16 minutes: Dalot is pushed back to De Gea again.
Brighton Press with four again. Gross leads again with Welbeck tagging Fred and March on the right.
Gross’s arcing run forces De Gea to wedge a left footed pass. This applies to a throw-in from Brighton – again high turnover.
The result was Brighton’s first-ever win at Old Trafford after 14 failed attempts (D2 L12). “We were brave and gave it our all,” Potter said full-time.
Brighton’s head coach is known for his tactical tweaks and varied formations, but a successful system was worth repeating.
(Top Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
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