Tasked with bringing a new identity to Manchester United, going the first month of the season without tasting victory wouldn’t have been the ideal start for Eva Olid.
But since they were defeated on the opening night by a new-look London City Lionesses and then well beaten by Chelsea, the Red Devils seem to be finding their feet again.
Holding Arsenal to a 1-1 draw gave the Red Devils the confidence to record back-to-back wins and begin their climb back up the Barclays Women’s Super League table.
Let’s dive into the tactics behind United’s recent upturn in form and see whether those wins are signs of better things to come.
Olid sees reward in taking risks
Generally speaking, Eva Olid is trying to introduce a more intricate passing style of play than her predecessor Mark Skinner.
The first key part of her tactics is the midfield unit being given more freedom in their movement off the ball, often coming short to create overloads in central areas and, in turn, some space for the wide players to run into.
BBC Sport’s tactics correspondent Umir Irfan explains that this risk-versus-reward approach “requires players to be better technically and quicker cognitively” for it to succeed.
Skinner opted for a more rigid 3-2-2-3 formation when his team had the ball. One full-back tucked inside to form a back three while the other advanced, and his number 10 remained high in pockets of space in either channel.
The wingers would hug the touchline and wait for the outball rather than drop inside first, and Skinner’s two holding midfielders acted as pivots. Overall, it was more stable than Olid’s more fluid brand of football.
So, what does she ask her players to do?
Number one: bait out the opponent’s press and attack the space it leaves. Each centre-back is tasked with creating more breathing room for either defensive midfielder.
Here, United’s centre-backs and two central midfielders create a box that promotes a vertical pass into Julia Zigiotti, who points to the space that she will run into and receive it.
Arsenal winger Olivia Smith is drawn inwards to cover off the passing lane, meaning left-back Anna Sandberg is able to run into the space down the line and kick-start an attack that ends with a shot on goal from Elisabeth Terland.
Worst case, United will reset with a pass back to goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce or go wide to Sandberg and make use of the triangle with Zigiotti.
The numbers prove Smith’s concern over the space behind her is warranted. Both Zigiotti and defender Maya Le Tissier rank in the top five for successful through balls so far this season, with Ella Toone not far behind in eighth.
It’s worth noting that their passing accuracy in open play does not surpass 80% save for Le Tissier. In other words, fewer than four of every five passes are successful.
Now for the second main ingredient.
Olid has also stressed that United “are a team who need to press high,” in order to force turnovers high up the pitch and are able to dictate the tempo of the game as she would like.
As we are about to see, United have applied Olid’s style to varying success.
Irfan points out that finding the right pass every time is a necessity, since United become more vulnerable to giving the ball away in dangerous areas.
He found the lead up to Chelsea’s fourth in their 5-0 victory was a clear example of this potential issue coming to light under an effective high press.
Hinata Miyazawa signals to Simi Awujo that there is a passing lane available to Zigiotti.
But Awujo does not read the state of play quickly enough and must hold onto the ball to avoid a coming together, meaning Cheslea close off the space.
Shifting the ball back to centre-back Dominique Janssen, the Dutch international is quickly closed down and sees her pass back to Awujo blocked.
What follows is a quick break in behind and Ellie Carpenter scoring Chelsea’s fourth goal on the rebound after great movement off the ball to get behind the home defence.
The best high press in the league, Chelsea’s positioning also meant they managed to get goalside of United’s midfield unit and put pressure on Awujo if she got the ball.
United registered 37% possession - their lowest share of the ball this season - and completed 85 passes in Chelsea’s half out of the 382 they attempted that game.
Perfecting their passing and organisation in midfield are key if Olid’s system is to return positive results, and were both things that needed work going forward.
Man United showing positive signs
There was clear evidence against West Ham that Olid’s side are now quickly getting up to the speed necessary to compute which passes to make in her desired shape.
In this example, Manchester United have reenacted the Blues’ high offensive line and successfully forced the Hammers into going long from their left-back position. This is another behaviour that Olid demands from her players.
Miyazawa is alert and steps up to contest the loose ball, spotting number 10 Ella Toone with a couple yards of space in front of her. Just as Olid has tried to encourage, she reaches the ball first and hooks it over the opponent.
Her high-risk pass is rewarded, as Toone manages to draw out two more opposition players and complete a neat one-two with Miyazawa.
Miyazawa now has three options: pass it to Terland (right) making an intelligent run off the shoulder of the centre-back, find Andrea Medina (left) running into the box, or hold the ball up and move it back to either teammate behind her.
Once again, a risky pass generates a great opportunity as Medina cuts inside and hits the crossbar. United went within inches of doubling their lead 30 seconds after the restart.
Remember United’s shape when playing out from the back? They used it to good effect in the build up to their second in this match, which would prove vital to their first three points of the season.
There’s the box again. This time Awujo is well-placed with enough room to receive the ball from Le Tissier, who quickly plays the ball through the gap to set her away.
With 84.5% accuracy from 323 open play passes, Le Tissier is emerging as a reliable figure United will be able to depend on to initiate a passing sequence.
The Canadian demonstrates brilliant composure to carry the ball forward and draw three players in to create space for Jessica Park to her right, who drops into a central position and then cuts back inside to open up the field of play and assess her options.
While West Ham drop deep to cover off Awujo continuing her down the half space on the right, Park has the vision to carve out a diagonal switch to Medina on the left wing.
Like the previous example, Medina bravely took on her defender and shifted the ball onto her right foot to curl a shot into the top right corner after her initial effort was blocked.
Olid’s team had generated 1.67 xG from 15 shots on goal, with six of them on target - the highest it has been so far this season, in addition to three big chances.
United also peaked in terms of other key indicators, registering 53% possession and completing 217 passes in West Ham’s half from 496 total passes attempted, which were accurate 87% of the time.
Buoyed on by that triumph, the Red Devils then went on to celebrate 250 matches as a BWSL club in style.
Though some will say United were fortunate to be presented with the winner early on in their 1-0 triumph over rivals Liverpool the next week, they certainly forced the error.
When Khiara Keeting has the ball at her feet, she has no choice but to act fast as Terland is bearing down on her at pace.
Making the return pass back to defender Grace Fisk is no longer an option, while moving it right is itself a risk with Toone and Medina closing down both defenders.
Olme senses Keeting’s intention to pick out Kirsty MacLean before she commits, and nips in to intercept before an audacious lob measured at just 0.04 xG over the goalkeeper.
United still have work to do
Manchester United have certainly made progress towards Olid’s vision for the team, creating goalscoring chances from both their high press and passing patterns.
But there appears to still be some work to do during and after the international break.
Liverpool ended up on the losing side despite racking up 1.47 xG throughout the match, and a few times they took advantage of United’s press gradually losing its intensity.
This instance shows Sandberg stepping out of the defensive line to close down Alice Bergström as Medina had initially moved up alone trying to cut out the prior pass.
Notice the midfield is still shifting to the right, giving MacLean the opportunity to make a darting run in behind and put a dangerous cross into the box.
The hosts are bailed out by a wonderful double save from Tullis-Joyce, but even on her best day Olid can’t afford for too many moments like that - especially against quality opposition.
In fact, we find similar situations in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal.
Much like the passing side of their game, United have shown much promise but have at times seemed vulnerable when needing to press the other team.
Though they rank 4th in the BWSL for high turnovers leading to goals with Zigiotti’s strikes against Arsenal and Liverpool, United are in the midpack for passes per defensive action.
Allowing 13 passes against them per tackle, interception, or clearance means they aren’t pressing as efficiently as teams above them in the table.
While this may not be an issue if Olid adapts from a high press to a mid-block, meaning the opposition will naturally have sequences with as many passes or indeed more, they must sense when there isn't an option other than to close down the ball.
Another area for improvement that Olid identified is her team's tendency to sometimes "lose simple passes and cannot recognise the free player”. This has happened in areas close to their goal.
Here, Sandberg is the best option for the forward pass since she is unmarked and under no pressure. However, Janssen instead tries to slot the ball into Toone higher up and concedes possession.
Vivianne Asseyi eventually fires wide of the target, but things might have been different on another day given that she’s scored 35 goals in 114 competitive matches for West Ham.
On the whole then, United have proven they are more than capable of carrying out Olid’s high-press, high-risk game plan and have scored goals doing so.
It is simply a matter of enacting it more often.
Who will be key to Manchester United’s success?
It goes without saying that Manchester United’s midfield pairing of Hinata Miyazawa and Julia Zigiotti are both crucial assets to Eva Olid’s plan.
Zigiotti leads the way this season with two goals and has shown she’s capable of something special as well as serving as a reliable passer in a key area of the pitch.
Also important to the system is Semi Awujo, who according to Irfan’s analysis has been rotated in and out for an added height factor when the team needs to be more direct.
Their importance will be felt both in and out of possession, with the United boss placing particular emphasis on the defensive side of the game before focussing on the offense.
“The focus [against Arsenal] was the defensive shape,” she said. “It’s trying to get them more confidence. We need to keep this, then from there, little by little, be an attacking team, create chances, score more goals.”
Mentioned merely in passing so far, goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce has kept her side in several matches this campaign. The experienced American has averaged 4.8 saves per match - the joint-third highest in the division - and has kept out 72.7% of the 35 shots she has faced.
When we discussed how United create space, both full-backs Sandberg and Hanna Lundkvist will often be involved in getting their side up the pitch quickly. It's there where the front three of Medina, Park, and Terland boast promising track records.
Terland has already established herself as a proven BWSL goalscorer, notching 37 since she joined Brighton in 2022 and 29 of those over 66 appearances in Manchester - not far off a goal every two matches.
Olid’s use of Medina and Park as inverted wingers cutting into spaces within the channels, instead of hitting the touchline every time, certainly has much promise.
Park scored six goals and assisted five in the BSWL last season and has found the net five times for the Lionesses in 26 appearances since her debut in 2022. As we've seen, she exhibits great balance on her feet and quite the eye for a pass.
Though Medina wasn’t as much of a goalscorer for Atlético Madrid in Liga F - finding the net just three times in 132 matches - her brilliant feet and strike against West Ham is strong evidence of what she can do.
Manchester United now sit just five points shy of the Women's Champions League places thanks to two much-needed victories that have edged them closer to Olid's vision for how the team should play.
They will view their next game against bottom side Charlton, who are without a point in the opening five games, as a good opportunity to make further progress on both fronts.
