The Regista - Man Utd vs Chelsea tactical review: Monster McTominay; Suffocating press; Wingers influence

Tribalfootball.com's tactical expert Connor Holden breaks down how certain tactical changes from Erik ten Hag and his use of Scott McTominay led to Manchester United's victory over Chelsea on Wednesday night.

Manchester United cut Chelsea off at the source, suffocating them in their own half and picking up the pieces. It was a relentless performance from the Red Devils who won 2-1, and we are going to look at how Erik ten Hag managed to nullify this Chelsea side.

UNITED'S SUFFOCATING PRESS

Chelsea struggled all game long to play through the United press, as they went man to man high up the pitch, forcing the Chelsea pivot players to receive the ball facing their own goal, resulting in long balls which gave the defenders the chance to win their duels and not allow Chelsea to settle in sustained attacking possession.

In the opening 20 minutes, Chelsea couldn't find the pass into the half spaces in between the pressing lines, which is pivotal when playing against high pressing teams. Once you play into the pocket between the pressing lines, it almost inactivates the press, allowing you to reset their trap and sustain possession whilst building up.

This image shows an adjustment Mauricio Pochettino tried to make, having Mykhaylo Mudryk drop into the pockets in central areas, to try and make the ball stick before giving it to the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo so they could face play.

However Mudryk, Cole Palmer and even Raheem Sterling - who did this on a few occasions - were unable to make their touch stick under pressure from the United central defenders who aggressively shifted forwards to ensure they couldn't turn.

Chelsea had some big chances in this game due to the aggressive pressing nature of