When Manchester City and Manchester United square battle in the FA Cup final on June 3, the only thing standing between them and a domestic double is Manchester United. Many are picking City to win the game, but D.C. United boss and United legend Rooney thinks a small configuration tweak could give the Red Devils a chance at Wembley.
I would set up United in a 4-4-2 formation with Martial and Rashford up top and a very stable midfield behind them: Casemiro in the centre with Christian Eriksen, or maybe Scott McTominay, and Bruno Fernandes and Fred on either side. The spacing between my eight defenders should be kept to a minimum.
“Everyone in football understands that it’s really difficult to break you down if you get a good block of eight men, do it correctly, and maintain your composure. In previous years, United has had some success versus City when attacking on the counterattack, frequently with Rashford and Martial in the lead.
Rooney proposed using strategies akin to those used by Mourinho while at Chelsea along with the change in formation. “He [Mourinho] would get the likes of Joe Cole, Arjen Robben, and Damien Duff to take up ‘half’ positions where they didn’t come all the way back and defend when Chelsea were out of possession but instead cheat a bit and wait higher up the pitch in areas from which they could counterattack as soon as Chelsea won the ball back,” the source claimed.
With notable victories over Liverpool, Arsenal, and even Manchester City all having rapid counterattacking movements that helped them win the game, it wouldn’t be significantly different from what United have done against the top clubs this season.
With a 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea on Thursday night, Ten Hag’s team guaranteed their place in the Champions League for the following season, making Sunday’s visit from Fulham pointless. In order to rest some of his key players in preparation for the cup final the following Saturday, when United will try to prevent City from repeating their legendary treble, the Dutch manager may be able to do so.