Thread by @dontatmk, THREAD: Analyzing Manchester United’s Europa League opponent Real Sociedad. An insight into [...]

THREAD: Analyzing Manchester United’s Europa League opponent Real Sociedad. An insight into their style of play, what problems they could create for MUFC, and more.

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#RealSociedad #MUFC #UEL

Sociedad, also known as La Real, play United in the UEFA Europa League with the first leg taking place tomorrow night in Turin (neutral venue due to Covid-19 restrictions). However, the 2nd leg is still currently scheduled to take place at Old Trafford which slightly favours MUFC

Real Sociedad's Shape
La Real operate a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 with David Silva as the 10 and receiving between the lines. Out of possession (in 3rd image, they're wearing black), they seem to defend in a compact 4-1-4-1 mid block with limited space in between players.

Buildup
In possession, they build from the back through short passes and the fullbacks providing width.
In recent games, while utilizing the 4231, the deepest holding midfielder would often drop back to form 3 CBs to provide width and open up passing angles

On other instances, with the 433, the single pivot (Zubimendi (No. 36) here) would drop deep, but take position in front of the CBs, and allow the fullbacks to stretch wider and receive in the wide spaces.

Chance Creation
A lot of Real Sociedad’s chance creation stems from linkup play and overloads through the use of triangles in wide areas. Through utilizing these triangles, they often create 3 on 2 scenarios against the opposition’s FB and Winger in that area. Hence, they gain -

-a numerical advantage which they can exploit to open up space to progress the ball and/or launch attacks. For example, Oyarzabal, Monreal, and Merino link up play quite well on the left side. Oyarzabal tends to primarily operate in the left half space and central area so -

-Monreal is needed to stay wide. Through their positioning and disguised runs, Merino and Monreal are able to create space centrally for Oyarzabal to drift into and attack. From here, Oyarzabal is able to use his speed to beat his man and deliver crosses.

Merino also plays a pivotal role in La Real's ball progression and attacking patterns on the left flank through his vertical passing. He is able to execute well timed runs to attack the open space and either deliver a cross or become a potential receiver to help progress the ball

On the other side of the pitch, Januzaj and Portu are the primary RW options. Although, for most of the first half of the season, Portu was preferred over Januzaj due to being a better fit for David Silva (RCM) and defensive reasons. Portu’s pace and his tendency to make -

- inwards runs and operate almost as a 2nd striker allows David Silva to use his ability to find the ballside winger and play him in (like he did with Sane at City). Despite his age, Silva is still technically sound and is an effective playmaker because of his high vision and IQ.

Januzaj has a tendency to drift in centrally/cut in or stay deeper which conflicts with David Silva’s. Despite this, and with some additional minutes recently due to rotation and an injury to David Silva, Januzaj’s been pretty productive with 4.19 SCAp90 in his limited minutes

Lastly, we move onto Alexander Isak. In the league, Isak has scored 9 (only behind 7 players) goals on 8.3xG. He comes into this game in terrific form having scored in all of Sociedad’s league matches in 2021(6 goals in 5 games). About 6’3-6’4 in height, Alexander Isak is very-

- mobile and athletic for his size and possesses good finishing technique/IQ. Isak is also good with his feet and is able to receive the ball in deeper areas to draw out defenders which can free space for wide players to make runs in behind.

How they can cause MUFC problems:
Head coach Imanol Alguacil has turned La Real into a good pressing side. They're often able to win possession or force errors in the final third. They have the third lowest PPDA (7.86) in La Liga this season (P-

- (PPDA=Passes per Defensive Action/metric to measure intensity of pressing). They also have players like Mikel Merino who are great at recovering the ball in the final third. This poses a threat to United as we've seen them often struggle in the 1st phase/buildup-

- with either slow buildup or a lack of structure. For example, we've seen pivot players be dispossessed in their own half due to a heavy touch or a lack of passing options/angles.

Sociedad's wide overloads could cause concerns for AWB as there have been times where he has been left exposed to an overload in the halfspace without help from a pivot player. This results in space created for an overlapping run or a cross delivered from the halfspace. Also, -

- MUFC's first choice CBs aren't particularly great at covering wider spaces. Their primary skillsets lie elsewhere. Lastly, United this season have been fairly susceptible to conceding from set pieces and La Real have several aerial threats such as Isak, Merino, and Le Normand

What United can do:
Although Sociedad have a decent defensive structure, I believe United can cause them problems in transitions. A quick skilled wide player like Rashford could penetrate the wider spaces abandoned by Sociedad's FBs. It'll be interesting to see how -

Sociedad's CBs cover the wider spaces. United could also seriously punish them if they can draw out Sociedad's deepest midfielder (maybe through the number 10s movement between the lines - VDB, Bruno) . Hence, leaving the backline exposed.

This is the end of my thread on Real Sociedad. I'm really looking forward to the game as I believe it's an interesting matchup. I would like to thank you for reading and I appreciate any feedback/interactions

Also, if you believe I've mis-explained something or there's a misconception, kindly point it out as this is only my 2nd ever thread and I'm always learning. Thank You!

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