All to play for as United loom

I RETURNED home from Round One last Wednesday, just in time to hear Strachan and Souness arguing the merits and demerits of a zonal defensive system on the box.

Sadly I’m still none the wiser as to why Benitez, or any manager would choose to defend in this fashion. It might sound logical when players are merely static ‘Os’ and ‘Xs’ in a tactical manual, but in the melee in and around the six-yard box, man-marking is the only option that leaves players without any excuse for losing their man.

If the first two-thirds of the Liverpool trilogy have served any purpose, they’ve surely settled this debate, as if Arsenal set-pieces in successive games can expose the shortcomings of a zonal defence, anyone can!