Minnesota United has had trouble defending the area in front of the center-backs,<\/a> which is where a holding mid usually operates. Sam Cronin filled the role well last season but has been out indefinitely with concussion symptoms. Rasmus Schuller has come in and helped in the area but some believe\u00a0he is better suited in\u00a0a box-to-box role.<\/p>\nThe 3-5-2 formation puts more bodies in the middle of the park and helps cover the area in front of the central defense. Over these last two games, it appeared that the opposing team has had less room to operate in front of the defense than in previous games. This doesn’t eliminate the problem of not having a true holding midfielder but it helps cover it up.<\/p>\n
Allows Darwin Quintero to Run Off Christian Ramirez up Top<\/h2>\n
This was a lot more evident against TFC than it was against Dallas but the point still stands. Some have thought Ramirez\u00a0would be best utilized with a partner up top. His hold- up play and intelligent runs would pair well with a partner. MNUFC seems to have discovered that partner in Quintero. He was undoubtedly\u00a0the hero of the Toronto game with his amazing hat-trick, but Ramirez also deserves some credit for the win. He held up the ball well and his runs occupied defenders and space, which allowed Darwin room to shine. The MNUFC looked as dangerous the last two games with this partnership\u00a0up top then it has in a while.<\/p>\n
Five-Man Midfield Provides Better Connection Between Defense and Attack<\/h2>\n
One of the observations with the new formation change is that it seems with the five-man\u00a0midfield the offense and the defensive end are now more connected than before. Earlier in the season when Minnesota had a bad spell of play it was often because they were stuck defending and were unable to transition to offense and earn some possession. The 3-5-2 allows them to transition\u00a0between the two phases of the game more easily. During the Toronto game, there was often a midfielder to receive a pass from one of the center\u00a0backs and start the attack.<\/p>\n
Also, during the Toronto\u00a0game, the defense was laying a higher line than they usually do. This allowed Fransisco Calvo to find Ibarra’s run that led to his goal. If the line was farther back, Calvo\u00a0may not have seen that run. Furthermore, the high line allowed the defenders to link up with the midfield\u00a0more easily instead of playing long balls out to them.<\/p>\n
Is This Just a Phase?<\/h3>\n
It may be a small sample size but the 3-5-2 formation fits the Loons well so far. It will be interesting to see if Adrian Heath sticks with the formation in the long run and how it possibly affects the personnel decisions the club makes in the future.<\/p>\n
Embed from Getty Images<\/a>