Counter-attacking
One of the main issues United have faced when trying to counter-attack is how immobile their squad is. The likes of Fellaini, Nemanja Matic, Antonio Valencia and Juan Mata are simply too slow to sprint the length of the pitch and catch the opposition defence off-guard. That said, United do have players who possess that speed: Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Fred and Luke Shaw are quick enough across the ground to pose defenders problems, so why aren’t they more successful on the counter?
A major problem is how deep United defend. Both wingers are expected to track back deep into their own half and the midfielders frequently drop back into the defensive line or just in front of them to stop crosses. As a result, United often find it difficult to spring forward because most of their players literally have to run the entire length of the pitch to do so. Lukaku is frequently the only man left forward and despite his excellent hold-up play, even he struggles to hold off defenders when he has such little support.
![Max[SaD]](/data/avatars/m/486/486708.jpg?1769262550){kind=avatar}