Manchester United defeat against Newcastle United in the Premier League last Monday, December 30, was the Red Devils’ third consecutive loss in Premier League. The Red Devils thereby remained in the 14th position in the league table with 22 points from 19 matches. The poor results show that even one Manchester United player tweak is mandatory at this point.
Manchester United are almost hovering in the relegation zone at the moment, which is an unprecedented low for them. Hence, Ruben Amorim has already started feeling the heat of his new job. Questions have also been raised about his 3-4-2-1 formation, which is quite natural given the unflattering run his team is having.
In such a scenario, the young Portuguese manager might be pondering some change in his formation. His compatriot Diogo Dalot can be a key player in this regard for his team.
Diogo Dalot: Manchester United Player Can Play Hybrid Role
Amorim’s idea of playing with a back-three is not bad at all. However, he has to make sure that his three central defenders are surrounded by proper players in proper positions. Playing Dalot in a hybrid role in a 4-1-4-1 formation will mean that the left-back can shift to a defensive midfielder’s position alongside someone like Kobbie Mainoo or Casemiro, thus making the formation a 3-2-4-1 while in possession.
Dalot’s presence in the middle third should give United better control. He can then always fall back to counter the opposition wingers. The Portuguese full-back has played in a hybrid role previously for a brief duration under Erik ten Hag as well.
Amorim can then play proper wingers like Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo in wide positions. It will also allow him to play a creative player like Bruno Fernandes in a suitable position. Someone like Christian Eriksen can play alongside Fernandes, as the former is not very comfortable playing in a holding position.
The absence of Mason Mount and the off-form of Joshua Zirkzee is definitely a problem for the Red Devils, but that new formation should be able to get rid of most of their difficulties. However, for that to happen, Dalot will have to take up the responsibility of playing in a hybrid role. That seems to be the most practical solution for the Red Devils at this point in time. With that Manchester United player tweak, maybe—just maybe—it would be enough to end the cycle of misfortune.
Manchester United defeat in next few matches will further jeopardize them
United will face Liverpool in a crucial Premier League match next Sunday, January 5. Then, they will Arsenal in the third round of FA Cup, which is yet another tough fixture for them. Both of those matches should be daunting prospects for them, and winning either of them should appease Amorim a great deal.
However, more defeats should mean that the 20-time English champions will find them further down the ladder. Fighting relegation still does not seem like a realistic threat, but might start to appear so if Amorim’s men lose their next couple of league matches.
It is a very tough time for the Red Devils, which will require them to have a lot of intelligence and application from them to come out of it. It remains to be seen whether the Red Devils are able to prove their mettle in the upcoming matches.
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