Ruben Amorim has made a somewhat underwhelming start — at least in terms of the result — as the Manchester United manager after his team drew 1-1 with Ipswich Town, one of the relegation-threatened teams in the Premier League.
However, it is only the beginning for the 39-year-old Portuguese manager, who has done some impressive work at Sporting CP, his previous club. It should prove to be a strenuous job ahead for him at Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world.
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Amorim Made Manchester United play with a 3-4-2-1
Amorim made his team start with a 3-4-2-1, with Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes playing behind Marcus Rashford, the centre-forward. It is distinctly different from a 3-4-3 that Antonio Conte made Chelsea play with in the 2016-17 season and won the Premier League title. Chelsea also used a back-three briefly under Thomas Tuchel in 2021, but since then hardly any top English club has used it.
Comparison to Previous Chelsea Formation
Chelsea had Eden Hazard and Pedro Rodriguez on the left and right flanks, respectively, with both of them cutting inside with their right and left foot, respectively. However, Manchester United started with Amad Diallo and Diogo Dalot as their two wide men against Ipswich, neither of whom could be trusted to cut inside much often in the middle third. As they did not reach the final third frequently and
In fact, despite having a stronger left foot, it was the right foot with which Amad delivered the cross for United’s goal. Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes showed a tendency to veer towards the left and right flanks at times, but Amorim primarily demanded them to stay in central positions. In fact, Garnacho played lateral passes a few times from his new position in the first half.
It is another debate altogether whether Garnacho’s ability to dribble past the opposition full-back on the left flank should have been used by Amorim as well, as it was by his predecessor Erik ten Hag. However, at the moment it appears that Amorim wants the young Argentine to cut down on his flair a bit and help pass the ball around inside the opposition half.
As for Bruno Fernandes, the position was more convenient for him to operate on. He has played as the No. 10 in a 4-2-3-1 predominantly so far during his stint at United and hence, playing in a central position behind the striker was not new for him. The two holding midfielders, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro, should have focused more on playing accurate forward passes to the front-three, especially since this is Eriksen’s forte.
He moved towards the right flank to deliver crosses at times, as he characteristically does, but one cannot expect him to cut inside through the inside-right channel. This also means that Marcus Rashford has to combine well with both Garnacho and Fernandes — at times with his back to the opposition goal — to make the new formation tick.
In comparison, Diego Costa could have afforded to rely much more on receiving crosses from Hazard and Pedro from the flanks. Rashford will have to understand it and play accordingly. It remains to be seen whither the team is able to make the new formation work.