Chelsea could press. Liverpool could press. Manchester City could press. Manchester United could not. Their inability to play a front-foot game, to harry opponents and win the ball back high up the pitch under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, was exposed most embarrassingly in their 5-0 thrashing by Liverpool. They looked an anachronism, talking about "United DNA" without recognising that football has changed.
Enter "the godfather of gegenpressing", as Ralf Rangnick has been nicknamed. United's interim manager, who may not be in charge for today's trip to Chelsea, represents a radical shift in thinking. Farewell to nostalgia, hello to a philosophy.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Read the full story and more at $9.90/month
Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month
ST One Digital
$9.90/month
No contract
ST app access on 1 mobile device
Unlock these benefits
All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com
Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device
E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you
