After several days of rest following the busy Christmas period, Manchester United faced Newcastle United at St. James' Park.
Newcastle United started the match by focusing entirely on defense, looking only for rare counterattacks.
Rafael Benítez's tactics were exceedingly conservative, clearly signaling: If you don't attack, neither will I.
Currently, Newcastle United sat 13th in the league table, just eight points above the relegation zone.
Therefore, facing a Manchester United side with vastly superior paper strength, Benítez's primary goal was to do everything possible to secure a point at home.
Jose Mourinho naturally wouldn't settle for a draw.
With a wave of his hand from the touchline, Manchester United quickly pushed forward, launching an aerial bombardment from both flanks.
The ball was constantly lofted into Newcastle United's penalty area.
Today, Manchester United lined up in an experimental 4-3-1-2 formation.
Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, David Luiz, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka formed the backline.
The defensive midfield trio consisted of Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matić, and Ander Herrera.
Paul Pogba played as the lone attacking midfielder, while Jeremy Ling and Romelu Lukaku partnered as a dual center-forward pairing.
Mourinho hadn't used this formation before, but he felt he couldn't keep Lukaku on the bench any longer, especially since the Belgian's wages were far from low.
Thus, with the idea of making the most of his resources, he devised this two-striker system.
"Boss, why aren't we using a standard 4-4-2? That formation offers much better balance between attack and defense," assistant manager Rui Faria asked, puzzled by the narrow setup.
"That would crowd out the wingers and actually weaken our defensive solidity in the middle," Mourinho replied without taking his eyes off the pitch.
"Besides, of our three defensive midfielders today, only Herrera has decent lateral mobility. The other two aren't quite up to covering the wide areas in a flat four."
Faria nodded, though he wasn't entirely convinced.
After a brief period of adaptation, the Manchester United front three grew increasingly cohesive, producing attacks as smooth as silk.
Peter Drury: "Pogba dances his way past Mohamed Diamé... oh, and he lofts a delicate, precise pass into the penalty area!"
Jim Beglin: "Lukaku is there. He holds off the defender brilliantly and nods the ball down... but the layoff lands in a very awkward spot for Ling. It's behind him!"
Whether with his foot or his head, Ling couldn't make immediate contact to shoot.
However, the next second, Benítez's eyes widened in disbelief on the touchline.
Ling threw his entire body backward, executing an acrobatic, improvised diving header, redirecting the bouncing ball into the net from the right side of the goal!
Peter Drury: "LIIIIIIING!!! How has he managed that?! He throws himself at the dropping ball, contorting his body to manufacture a finish out of absolutely nothing! It is pure instinct! In the 21st minute, Manchester United take the lead!"
From then on, Manchester United completely controlled the rhythm of the game.
Even when an attack broke down and possession was lost, the three defensive midfielders provided an immense wall of solidity, complemented by the two defensively minded full-backs staying deep.
This ensured that Newcastle United failed to register a single shot on target before the end of the first half.
After the second half began, Manchester United continued with their tried-and-tested approach: overlapping runs from the full-backs and relentless crosses from the flanks.
However, the crossing methods varied—diagonal crosses, low-driven crosses, and cutbacks were frequently alternated.
The Newcastle United defense was run ragged and began making several basic positional errors.
In the 63rd minute...
Peter Drury: "Luke Shaw drives to the byline. He delivers the left-footed cross... it's hung up there."
Jim Beglin: "The quality isn't particularly high, but look at Jeremy Ling's leap!"
Peter Drury: "Ling rises! He hangs in the Tyneside air, outjumping Jamaal Lascelles to head the ball back across the face of goal! And LUKAKU IS THERE! A thunderous volley! The ball bounces once and flies into the roof of the net! Emphatic from the Belgian!"
0-2!
With a comfortable two-goal lead, Mourinho decisively opted to Park the Bus.
As for the deafening boos from the home fans? he didnt give a shit about it..
"Boss, our left and right flanks are exposed with huge gaps in this shape," Faria said with a worried expression, pointing at the pitch.
"We can only rely on the three central midfielders to cover them with extensive lateral movement! This formation isn't working perfectly defensively!"
"Hmm, indeed," Mourinho nodded calmly. "But if we add a world-class defensive midfielder with a massive range of movement, the problem would be easily solved!"
"You mentioned wanting to approach N'Golo Kanté, but Chelsea have made it clear they won't let him go," Faria reminded him.
"Look at you, getting impatient again," Mourinho waved his hand dismissively. "Business isn't done in a day. Take it slow, and results will come eventually."
His current primary focus behind the scenes was on Manchester United's wage structure.
Over the past year, Manchester United had spent £180 million renewing key player contracts.
If they were to sign Kanté now, it might cause financial fair play issues unless they sold a few more fringe players to free up salary space.
But the problem was that Manchester United's current squad was quite lean.
Redundant players like Marcos Rojo and Chris Smalling had already left.
What about Matteo Darmian?
Thinking of this, Mourinho glanced at the substitutes' bench.
Manchester United currently wasn't short on defenders. Perhaps letting the Italian return to his homeland would be a rather good option to free up wages.
When Darmian noticed Mourinho's calculating gaze, he couldn't help but break out in goosebumps, forcing a smile that looked even worse than crying!
The midfield also seemed a bit overcrowded with McTominay, Kovačić, Matić, and Pogba.
But if this 4-3-1-2 formation proved viable long-term, then Pogba could serve as the starting attacking midfielder, making the remaining personnel distribution much easier.
Or perhaps they could exchange Kovačić for Kanté, even if it meant paying Chelsea a bit extra in cash?
The more Mourinho thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
He and Faria chatted intermittently about transfer matters while the situation on the green pitch underwent a dramatic change.
Kovačić had just prepared to receive a pass from a teammate but misjudged his touch, sending the ball straight out of bounds.
After Newcastle United took the throw-in, they discovered something terrifying.
When Manchester United defended, every single player dropped back.
The forwards retreated near the center circle, and the attacking midfielder dropped even deeper, forming a shape similar to a hyper-compressed 4-4-2.
To put it simply, aside from the goalkeeper, ten players were simultaneously involved in deep defense, completely clogging up the entire backfield.
Whenever any Newcastle United player had the ball, they would face intense pressing within seconds, finding no gaps to pass through to break the defensive line.
It was truly taking Park the Bus to the extreme!
"What a damn bastard!" Benítez couldn't help but curse from his technical area.
Although he had frequently used defensive blocks as his mainstream tactic whether coaching Liverpool or Real Madrid, he had never been as ruthlessly insane as Mourinho!
However, strengthening the defense to this degree inevitably meant sacrificing offensive intensity.
The 4-3-1-2 formation had a fatal flaw on the counter: its attacking power was very weak, with only two forwards consistently in offensive positions.
"I think for Manchester United, this shouldn't be a problem," Mourinho's lips curled into a slight smirk as his gaze locked onto Ling.
No matter how much pressure was applied to him, the kid could shoulder it and complete the task alone.
Which manager wouldn't love such a player?
Using sheer individual brilliance to compensate for tactical shortcomings was a simple yet effective method, but not everyone had a player capable of employing it.
Mourinho couldn't help but sigh happily.
"This feels so good!"
"Good about what?!" Before Faria finished speaking, he exclaimed again, "There's a gap on the flank! Ah, thankfully, David Luiz made a timely tackle!"