FOOTBALL has long harboured an unusual dichotomy. Call it the “system” versus the “individual”. The former contends that if you have balance and tactical nous, if your game plan is sounder than the opposition and you execute it well, then you will have the edge. The latter maintains that tactics are all well and good, but it is individuals who have to interpret them. And, therefore, your best chance of winning comes from playing your most gifted players.

It is a debate as old as the game. Ideally, you would have very talented players existing in very sophisticated and balanced systems but since that is a utopia, you need to fall somewhere on that spectrum between individual excellence and systemic brilliance. The two higher profile Champions League matches last week offered fine examples of this.

Juventus boss Max Allegri insisted on cramming his most talented players into his starting XI, playing two strikers, two attacking wingers (one of them, Mario Mandzukic, a recycled centre-forward) plus an attacking midfielder like Miralem Pjanic, in the hole. At full-back, he picked Alex Sandro and, against his old club, Dani Alves, players who are used to spending the bulk of the game in the opposing half.

This is not what Juventus built their recent success on and it is distinctly un-Italian. But, as Allegri explained before the match, at this level football is about winning one-on-one match-ups more than it is about tactical solidity. Particularly against a side like Barcelona, who specialise in breaking down opponents who aim to stop them from playing.

Barca’s approach, weirdly, was the polar opposite. Luis Enrique stuck to the 3-4-3 he has adopted of late, a system which aims to put Lionel Messi at the top of a diamond, with three options ahead of him and freedom to create. That system worked well when he had Rafinha in the front three and Sergio Busquets at the base of the diamond. But both were unavailable against Juventus and their absence severely hampered Barca, leading directly to that 3-0 thumping. In a sense, despite the talents at his disposal, Luis Enrique put the system ahead of the individuals and paid a price.

Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory away at Bayern also saw the individual preferred to the system. Or, rather, Madrid have played the same old 4-3-3 for much of the campaign and weren’t about to change it. Instead, they relied on the fact that, man-for-man, they are simply better than Bayern (particularly a version without Robert Lewandowski) in at least seven positions. It is easy to forget, but players like Luka Modric and Toni Kroos on most other teams would be superstar “number 10” types, rather than the midfield drones they often are at Real.

It is not a fool-proof approach, of course. It worked against Bayern in part because the Bavarians, at home, had to attack and take on the visitors head on, thereby creating the series of individual battles that ended up favouring Zinedine Zidane’s crew. Maybe, against a head-down, park-the-bus opponent, a different strategy would have worked better.

Whatever the case, you get the impression that maybe Allegri may be on to something here. Philosophies and systems may win you league titles, but in one-off, knockout formats, perhaps it’s best to let the talent do the talking.

Provided, of course, that you have enough of it.

MANCHESTER United entertain Chelsea today at Old Trafford. What’s at stake? For Jose Mourinho, a chance to delay - if not derail - his former club’s march to the Premier League title. For United, an opportunity to show that their home record need not be a curse and, while they have only beaten one top eight side at the Theatre of Dreams, toppling the league leaders would undoubtedly provide a shot in the arm.

Beyond that, the season will likely end with United somewhere between third and sixth - most likely fifth - and with a projected points total of around 72. That would still be their highest total since Sir Alex Ferguson retired - and it could well have been a whole lot higher without the many points dropped at Old Trafford. Throw in the League Cup and, possibly, the Europa League and Mourinho will no doubt spin it as a season of progress.

He would be right, too. It may be tricky for some to accept, but United are better today than they were at any point since Sir Alex left - in part because of the riches lavished on the squad, in part because they have a better manager.

But a legitimate question remains in terms of how you improve this team. One way to look at it is to ask yourself how many players could you confidently expect to be starters in a hypothetical United side capable of challenging for the Champions League in 2018-19?

Given that Zlatan Ibrahimovic likely won’t be around and David De Gea might not be either (it’s hard to believe, despite the denials, that when he extended his contract 18 months ago he would not have inserted a release clause of some kind), you can probably count them on one hand, maybe with a finger or two left over.

This doesn’t necessarily mean Mourinho needs to go on another massive spending spree - though you would imagine he will - but it does suggest he needs to carefully assess what he has and figure out who to build around.

One of the more interesting players in that sense is Marcus Rashford. Has he progressed from last year to this year? His goal tally - eight - is the same, though his minutes on the pitch are way up. That, however, can also be chalked up to the presence of Ibrahimovic diverting the young striker to the wing when he does get on the pitch.

The impression is that, as long as Ibrahimovic remains a fixture in United’s attack, there is little point in keeping Rashford around, unless you see his long-term future as a winger (which Mourinho does not) or you plan on playing him alongside Ibrahimovic (also not part of Mourinho’s plan). Using him as a back up centre-forward makes little sense, not just because it limits his time on the pitch, but also because - when he does come on - he will be doing so in a side geared towards a big, strong target man not a fleet-footed forward.

Given all that, the most logical solution - if the aim is to further his development - is to send him on loan elsewhere, perhaps even abroad. He is still only 19, he’s still discovering and refining his talent. And the reality is that Old Trafford next season might not be the best place to do it.