Manchester United's Pressing Problems: A Reality Check in Pre-Season

I still remember the excitement building during our pre-season tour. Three wins, eleven goals, and suddenly everyone was talking about United's revival under Erik ten Hag. But then came the Aston Villa friendly, and reality hit hard.

We dominated the first half - Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford putting us 2-0 up in Perth. The football felt different, more purposeful. But then something changed after halftime. Leon Bailey and Callum Chambers scored, and we ended up drawing 2-2. Ten Hag was furious afterwards, saying exactly what I was thinking: "It's not possible that you go 2-0 and then throw it away."

What Went Wrong with Our Press?

The biggest issue? Our pressing game. Watching the match back, I noticed how Villa kept finding ways through our press. Ten Hag's system relies on intense, coordinated pressing, but we were just... slow. Specifically, Sancho and Rashford weren't quick enough closing down Villa's center-backs when they had the ball.

When Villa's defenders received the ball, our forwards should have been on them immediately. Instead, they had time to pick passes out wide to the full-backs. This created a domino effect - Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot would get pulled out of position to press, leaving huge spaces behind them that Villa exploited.

The Tactical Breakdown

Ten Hag had us set up in a compact 4-1-4-1 formation, which actually worked well in some aspects:

• ✅ It prevented Villa from creating midfield overloads

• ✅ It allowed quick transitions to Anthony Martial on counterattacks

• ✅ It helped us shepherd Villa toward the wings

But the execution was lacking. When we tried to force Villa toward the sides, Sancho was too slow pressing the extra midfielder on the opposite side. Villa would simply find that spare player and break through our press.

Why Does This Matter?

This isn't just about one pre-season friendly. Pressing has been United's weakness for years. Under Ralf Rangnick, we consistently struggled with coordinated pressing. Now Ten Hag is trying to implement his system, but old habits die hard.

What frustrates me most is that we have the players to make this work. The system is there, the ideas are sound - but the execution needs to be faster, more decisive. Every player needs to buy in completely and execute their pressing responsibilities perfectly.

Looking Ahead

This Villa match served as an important reality check. We're not where we need to be yet. Implementing "Ten Hag Ball" requires more than just a few good results - it demands consistent, disciplined pressing from every player, every minute of every game.

As Ten Hag said, losing focus is unacceptable. If we want to compete at the highest level, we need to master these fundamentals. The potential is there - we saw glimpses in those first three matches - but potential means nothing without proper execution.

This pre-season has shown both the promise and the problems. Now it's up to the players to learn from these lessons and implement them when the real competition begins.