[-THREAD-] With Manchester United taking on Başakşehir for their third game of the group stage, I decided to take a look at Başakşehir’s principles both on and off the ball in their first two CL games to see the weaknesses United could exploit. And there is good news...
Başakşehir have lined up in a 4-1-4-1 in both games. You can see their lineup against PSG below. You probably know Rafael, Topal, Višća and Škrtel.
4-1-4-1 is also their shape against the ball, with four different lines. I will come back to these four lines later on in this thread.
When they have the ball, Başakşehir mainly look to build out the back through long balls. They either launch it to a runner beyond the opponent’s defensive line or to Crivelli, their striker, who is 6ft tall.
Once they have launched a long ball towards Crivelli, the aim is to pack the area close to the striker in order to win second balls. United must control this to avoid Başakşehir gaining territory.
This strategy has less risks against better opponents, which is what Başakşehir will exclusively face in Champions League this season. However, when they build out the back, they also try to work with rotations.
Rafael, former Manchester United’s right-back, starts wide right. But once the ball comes to the right centre-back, the Brazilian moves inside while his teammate on the right drops deeper to receive. As a result, it allowed Rafael to find space inside.
Başakşehir are relatively poor at bringing the ball out the back, which could lead them to the kind of mistakes highlighted below. As there is no movement, the CB advances and ultimately gets taken the ball off his feet. Leipzig scored from this
Başakşehir are relatively poor at bringing the ball out the back, which could lead them to the kind of mistakes highlighted below. As there is no movement, the CB advances and ultimately gets taken the ball off his feet. Leipzig scored from this
Başakşehir are relatively poor at bringing the ball out the back, which could lead them to the kind of mistakes highlighted below. As there is no movement, the CB advances and ultimately gets taken the ball off his feet. Leipzig scored from this
When Başakşehir are higher up the pitch, they work with wide overloads and aren’t afraid to have the ball when they are at home nor to commit a lot of players forward, which makes them vulnerable on transitions.
In both stills below, you can see that they commit multiple players forward to overload both the wide area to find a cross and the box to have bodies on the end of it. It resulted in a counter-attack for PSG where they were in a 4 against 4 situation.
In both stills below, you can see that they commit multiple players forward to overload both the wide area to find a cross and the box to have bodies on the end of it. It resulted in a counter-attack for PSG where they were in a 4 against 4 situation.
In both stills below, you can see that they commit multiple players forward to overload both the wide area to find a cross and the box to have bodies on the end of it. It resulted in a counter-attack for PSG where they were in a 4 against 4 situation.
These wide overloads are a recurrence as they aim for crosses. Indeed, they are fifth for crosses so far in the CL despite being in the bottom half of the table for passes completed. For instance, Sevilla are 4th for crosses and we know what happened when we faced them...
Başakşehir defend in a 4-1-4-1 with one player applying pressure in buildup. Leipzig built out the back with only 2 players despite setting up in a back five because of that. They already had the numerical superiority in buildup so it wasn’t a necessity to add a third player.
Başakşehir man-mark the opposite holding midfielder in build-up. Against PSG, I saw them marking both Herrera and Marquinhos in build-up. Here, Herrera quickly goes forward to bypass that second line. United could definitely take advantage of it
In their settled shape, Başakşehir want to close the middle of the pitch but you can see below that Danilo Pereira’s ball carrying opened a passing lane inside. Both Lindelöf and Maguire are able to carry it forward, this is something I would like to see
In their settled shape, Başakşehir want to close the middle of the pitch but you can see below that Danilo Pereira’s ball carrying opened a passing lane inside. Both Lindelöf and Maguire are able to carry it forward, this is something I would like to see
In their settled shape, Başakşehir want to close the middle of the pitch but you can see below that Danilo Pereira’s ball carrying opened a passing lane inside. Both Lindelöf and Maguire are able to carry it forward, this is something I would like to see
Finally, they keep their full-back close to their centre-back, which makes them vulnerable to switches of play or to quick ball circulations in wide areas. This is highlighted below. Mbappé receives in the right halfspace and immediately looks for his right-back into space.
Finally, they keep their full-back close to their centre-back, which makes them vulnerable to switches of play or to quick ball circulations in wide areas. This is highlighted below. Mbappé receives in the right halfspace and immediately looks for his right-back into space.
Finally, they keep their full-back close to their centre-back, which makes them vulnerable to switches of play or to quick ball circulations in wide areas. This is highlighted below. Mbappé receives in the right halfspace and immediately looks for his right-back into space.
Başakşehir could play into United’s hands as they are easily exposed on the counter, one of United’s strengths under Solskjær. They lost 2-0 twice in the CL so far. United are also good away from home as they have less of the ball and should win this.

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