On most defensive transitions, over the shoulder of Bruno Fernandes on his blind-side, Manchester United leave the top of the box open for the cut-back.

Alexis Mac Allister, Antoine Semenayo, James MacAtee, Josh Cullen, Eberechi Eze, Bruno Guimaraes, Martin Ødegaard, and Pascal Gross should all be putting a little bit more extra practice into that shot before they face United.

I can’t explain why they do this. Maybe they’ve been instructed to stop the cross first. They are very interested in stopping the short pass back but they did not mark that pass at the top of the box against Chelsea.

Bruno Fernandes is the player to track. The space is always over his shoulder. When the winger cuts inside or looks to cross they should just locate him.

Match: Chelsea 4-3 Manchester United, 4 April 2024