# The Tweaks Behind Manchester United's Resurgence > For the full version with images, embedded tweets, and visual breakdowns, [visit BallerzBantz](https://www.ballerzbantz.com/p/tweaks-behind-united-resurgence). The highlight of United's crucial wins over the past three game-weeks has been De Gea booting the ball long. After the Brentford defeat, where United got caught out playing from the back, some caution has been employed. ## Playing Out of the Back Playing out from the back is an in-possession principle whereby teams initiate possession sequences from their defensive third — usually with short passes — rather than clear it long. Two key reasons: 1. **Maintaining Control**: Winning second balls remains unpredictable. To maintain control, some teams always choose to play short where they can more likely control the following action. 2. **Artificial Transitions**: Teams bait the opposition press while playing out, then break the lines to create a counter-attack situation. ### Ten Hag's Dilemma After the Brentford defeat, Ten Hag noted: "I don't want to play out from the back when it is not possible. It is naive how we played today. It was expected that we play more direct after we attracted them." The tweaks behind United's subsequent resurgence centered on pragmatism — using De Gea's long distribution to bypass the press when building from the back proved too risky, while maintaining the principles of artificial transitions when the conditions were right. *(Visit the full article for the complete tactical breakdown with diagrams and frame analysis.)* --- ## Related - [[Second Balls and Casemiro]] - [[McTominay]] - [[Writing/Sports/anti-strategy]]