Man Utd: Tactical Blunders Exposed! Jamie Carragher Slams Midfield after Devastating Tottenham Defeat | Find Out What's Going Wrong

Jamie Carragher believes that Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag should reconsider his midfield due to their disappointing start to the season. Criticizing their tactical performance, Carragher points out several issues with the team, including problems with the manager's tactics and his choice of players.

Here, tactics analyst Dharnish Iqbal takes an in-depth look at how Tottenham achieved their 2-0 win on Saturday, one week after Wolves rattled United's rearguard on the opening weekend - when Ten Hag's side narrowly won 1-0 after the visitors squandered a raft of chances in front of goal.

Tale of two halves

Despite Ten Hag's intention for his summer signings to bridge the gap between rivals Manchester City and Arsenal, it seems that the gap has only widened, despite being just two games into the league campaign.

United splashed £60m on Mason Mount but early signs suggest Ten Hag needs to find a way of deploying the England midfielder without sacrificing defensive solidity.

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Ten Hag got his tactics spot on in the opening 45 minutes against Spurs, but United could not make the pressure count and score.

Similar to the previous season, Manchester United experienced contrasting performances before and after half-time in their match against Spurs. Ange Postecoglou's halftime adjustments disrupted the disorganized United side, leading to a shift in momentum. The below graphic illustrates this shift, with Tottenham regaining control in the attacking third and scoring both goals. They also came close to equalizing the expected goals.

So, what issues emerged during the Tottenham defeat?

United's man-to-man high press

United successfully neutralized Tottenham's inverted full-backs and disrupted their build-up play in the first half through their outstanding high-pressing tactics, implementing a man-to-man approach. One of either Marcus Rashford or Bruno Fernandes would closely mark Yves Bissouma, while the remaining player would apply pressure on the centre-backs.

Additionally, Antony and Mount would narrow their positioning to swiftly close down Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro whenever they received the ball, leaving Alejandro Garnacho to apply pressing on the side of the pitch where the ball was being played.

The passing lanes to the full-backs were effectively blocked, forcing them to position themselves in the central area and compress the middle of the pitch. It makes little sense to have full-backs positioned in a box midfield if they are tightly marked and unable to distribute the ball effectively.

Fernandes and Rashford, along with their marking of Bissouma, effectively prevented the Spurs midfielder from distributing the ball from defense to attack through passes or dribbles.

Previously, United had employed this pressing strategy to hinder teams from building up centrally. However, this time they not only managed to keep Tottenham at bay, but also reclaimed possession, surpassing their mere disruption of the opponent's build-up play.

Whenever Porro or Udogie received the ball in the middle of the pitch, United hounded and pressed to win the ball.

This led to Mount pinching the ball off Porro but Antony couldn't hit the target with his shot.

In this defensive formation, if a player from the opposing team tries to evade United's coverage, the nearest teammate quickly takes on the responsibility of marking him. This ensures that no player is left unattended, and they remain tightly marked.

When Porro tries to make room for himself by moving away from Mount, the English midfielder directs Garnacho to closely mark him. This is done to be cautious of Pape Sarr, who might drop back to receive the ball.

James Maddison tries to shift the defense by moving wide, but Antony swiftly marks him while Casemiro retrieves Udogie. Consequently, there is a simultaneous defensive presence in the same positions, albeit with different players.

Tottenham appeared uneasy in the initial phases as Bissouma, Udogie, and Porro struggled to receive the ball and often carelessly lost possession in their own half.

United's pressing system limited the opportunities for the ball to be played out wide to Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski, preventing them from stretching United's defense and allowing their full-backs to make forward runs.

Despite gaining turnovers in possession and a golden opportunity for Fernandes, United were the superior team but lacked efficiency in front of goal.

Game-changers: Maddison and Sarr

In the second half, Maddison effortlessly found space, becoming the main catalyst for change.

Despite United's attempt to maintain a central defensive structure and restrict space, the first image compared to the second demonstrates how Udogie's dribbling skill disrupted their pressing strategy.

Sarr elevated his position, and Maddison exploited the available space behind Casemiro, who was compelled to confront Udogie.

The disorderly manner of the game at this time aligned with Maddison's increasing impact. United usually face difficulties when the game's pace intensifies, especially when playing away. As United were forced to retreat, Maddison and Sarr started to manipulate United's movements.

Casemiro was now concerned by Sarr's movement and Mount picked up Maddison, but splitting them apart created a gaping hole in the middle for Spurs to exploit.

In this instance, Son expertly delivers the ball out wide, enabling him to make a pass to Udogie who is positioned just beyond Antony's reach. Udogie's adeptness at exploiting the half-space, which was momentarily overlooked in the initial period, is a distinctive trait of his gameplay.

Sarr occasionally retreated towards the ball, luring a defender towards him while Porro moved wide, thus diverting United's pressing formation away from its compact positioning. This allowed Maddison to receive a long pass by pulling Varane away from the defensive line, thereby capturing Casemiro's attention, while Udogie occupied the resulting vacant space.

Spurs asserted their dominance in the second half, causing Manchester United's defensive line to retreat, thereby creating more opportunities for Maddison to showcase his expertise in collecting the ball and generating scoring possibilities.

United's press was relaxed as Tottenham grew more agile, resulting in their attacks becoming repetitive and one-dimensional, relying on hopeful balls played behind to Rashford, a tactic that has previously achieved success. However, United performs better as a team when calmly passing through midfield.

With 30 minutes remaining, Christian Eriksen was substituted in an effort to regain control of the game. Although United had more possession, they lacked the determination and energy shown in the first half and seemed fatigued from fending off Tottenham's relentless waves of attacks.

United had a slow start last season, and although only two games have been played, Ten Hag's team is now facing the same problems that affected them in the previous campaign: a lack of goal-scoring prowess, struggles in tough away matches, and being dominated in the midfield.