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Some fixtures just don’t sound right. Maybe it’s just about imaginable that, had things gone slightly otherwise in the 1970s, Terry Venables or another manager leading their side behind the Soviet Bloc for a shot against Valeriy Lobanovskyi’s tactical masterminds, but Dynamo Kyiv against Crystal Palace remains a clash that elicits a second look. It seems like a category error: how can those teams even be in the identical competition?

However this is the modern world. The nation is battling conflict, its sides weakened. The English top flight is incredibly wealthy. And the Eagles are coached by one of the emerging stars of the continental game. They didn’t just play each other on the matchday, but Palace triumphed with a notable ease. It was their third straight victory, their 19th straight game without defeat.

Managerial Rumors and Future Steps

Therefore, because no team of their stature can simply be allowed to savor a good run, all the discussion is of where Oliver Glasner might go next. His deal expires at the end of the campaign and he has refused to sign an renewal. He is fifty-one; if he is going to lead a top team with the possibility of an long spell in command, he lacks a huge amount of time to secure a transition. Could he then be the solution for the Red Devils? He indeed, ultimately, utilize the same formation as the Sporting coach, just rather more effectively.

Tactical System and Cultural Context

Which brings up the issue of the reason a approach that has attracted so much doubt at United works so well at Selhurst Park. But it’s never only about the formation, nor is it the situation – generally speaking – that a specific system is inherently superior than another. Rather specific tactical shapes, in combination with the style they are implemented, emphasize particular elements of the game. It is, at the minimum, intriguing that since Harry Catterick’s Everton claimed the title in the 1962-63 season with a W-M formation, only one side has won the Premier League playing with a three-man defense: the Italian’s Chelsea in the 2016-17 season.

Antonio Conte’s team won the title in that season with a back three and in practice two No 10s.

That success was a bit of a black swan event. The London club that campaign had no European football, keeping them more rested than their rivals, and they had squad members who suited the formation almost freakishly well.

N’Golo Kanté, with his stamina and understanding of the play, is almost a duo in one, and he was functioning at the back of midfield alongside either calming presence of Cesc Fàbregas and Nemanja Matic, one of the most incisive playmakers the division has known. That offered the platform for the dual playmakers: the Belgian wizard, who thrived in his unrestricted role, and Pedro, a expert of the dart into the box. Each of those players was improved by their partnership with the others.

Systemic Reasons and Strategic Difficulties

To an extent, the relative absence of success for the back three, at minimum in terms of winning titles, is cultural. Few teams have secured the title using a 3-4-2-1 because few sides have played a three-at-the-back system. The World Cup win in 1966 cemented in the English football consciousness the effectiveness of defensive organization with a four defenders.

That remained the standard, almost without challenge, for the twenty years that ensued. But there could also be particular strategic explanations. A back three derives its breadth from the wingbacks; it may be that the intense hard-running nature of the British game makes the demand on those players too great to be maintained regularly.

However the 3-4-2-1 poses specific challenges. It is stable, providing the trapezoid defensive shape – three center-backs shielded by two holders – that is widely acknowledged as the most efficient way to guard against opposition fast breaks. But that is only one aspect of the game. If they push forward from the protection of the three defenders, given the common use of setups with a central trio, two midfield players will tend to be outmanned without backup from other areas – unless a single player has the outstanding abilities of Kanté.

Eddie Nketiah celebrates after scoring his side’s second strike against the Ukrainian side.

Advantages and Limitations of the System

The very stability of that tight 3-2 shape, meanwhile, while an benefit for a side looking to absorb pressure, turns into a possible disadvantage for a team that seek to take the game to the rival. Its greatest asset is simultaneously its greatest weakness. The blockish nature of the formation, the way the midfield is split into defensive players and attack-minded players – exclusively defensive mids and attacking mids in modern parlance, with no No 8s – means that without a individual to step between lines there is a risk of being read easily; again, the Blues had the ideal man to fill that role, David Luiz frequently striding forward from the defense to become an additional central option.

Divergent Approaches at Palace and United

Palace aren’t concerned about that. They have the second-least possession of all teams in the Premier League. It’s not their role to have the possession. And that is the primary reason why a direct contrast with Manchester United’s struggles is challenging. The Red Devils, by tradition and by demand, cannot be the team with the second-lowest ball retention in the Premier League.

Even if they opted to counterattack against other elite clubs, the majority of their games will be against opponents who sit deep and could be happy enough with a tie. In the bulk of fixtures there is an pressure on them to control the ball.

Maybe a progressive team could play a three-at-the-back system but it requires very particular personnel – as Conte possessed at Stamford Bridge. The Austrian’s success with it has arrived at Wolfsburg and the German clubs, where he has been able to have his team defend compactly and attack at pace.

Palace have beaten West Ham and West Ham, because most sides do at the moment, held the Blues, and torn the Reds apart on the break. But they’ve additionally tied at home to Sunderland and Sunderland, and found it hard to beat the Norwegian side. Defend deeply against Palace and they struggle for invention.

Adjustment and Future Possibilities

Would Glasner adapt if he moved