To be fair

Brits hate Mou-ball as much as Americans would hate it if they were subjected to it.

That said, I understand why teams want to clench at the back, give up possession and just slog it out for 90 minutes. United isn't going to beat LFC or City by being overly aggressive. But to a casual or non-fan, the deeper chess match isn't obvious. When I'm watching a match like that, my eyes stray away from the ball to look at player movement, positioning, exposed triangles, etc. If I wasn't watching for this, I'd be almost as bored as watching a pitcher spend 20 seconds between pitches with nobody on base.