Can Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 Work at Manchester United with the Players He Currently Has?
It took barely 80 seconds for Manchester United’s new dawn to break. Marcus Rashford prodded home an early goal to give the Red Devils the lead against Ipswich Town in Ruben Amorim’s first game as the club’s head coach – a dream start, you might say.
However, United were unable to maintain their supremacy, with the Tractor Boys eventually finding an equaliser. We might suspect Amorim would have been reasonably dissatisfied with what he saw from his new players, with all the signs suggesting his favoured 3-4-3 system might take some time to bed in.
Patience Not a Virtue
The Portuguese will be hoping to get off to a fast start; the Old Trafford faithful are not known for their patience, so a tough second half to the 2024/25 campaign would be a disaster.
For those that bet on Premier League football, United (6/1) have now slipped behind the likes of Tottenham (9/4) and Brighton (5/1) in the race for a top four finish.
Indeed, the football tips columns are predicting that even a top six finish would be an ask, which is rather damning of how far this former giant of the English game has fallen.
Amorim will be given time to get it right, but likely not too much time. He won two Portuguese league titles with Sporting Lisbon, staying true to a tactical system that, while fluid, was rooted in a 3-4-3 set up.
“It was written.”
Rúben Amorim on a special European night for Sporting, his next challenge in Manchester and Gyökeres’ future 👀
🎙 @Becky_Ives_ pic.twitter.com/ymRNAfq0GS
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 5, 2024
Amorim favours a high defensive line and hard pressing all over the pitch, so it will be fascinating to see if he has faith in his current set of players to fulfil his functions, or if he delves considerably into the transfer market in January.
East Coast Blues
With Rashford starting in number nine against Ipswich, only time will tell if Amorim will try to make the move permanent. The exact nature of Bruno Fernandes position in this shape is also yet to be clearly defined, with Fernandes often receiving the ball in wide areas on the right-hand side, perhaps not where he is best placed.
Amorim’s managerial debut against Ipswich revealed that he intends to set United up in much the same way he did Sporting, but also reveals the flaws he has inherited.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 25, 2024
The Red Devils dominated possession, as you would expect, and yet they recorded a lower xG count – and fewer shots on target – than an opponent that has won just once all season long. Ipswich also missed three gilt-edged chances.
United funnelled 50% of their 606 passes down the left-hand side, but with Fernandes posted as a somewhat inside right, he was perhaps unable to get on the ball as much as Amorim would like.
Although a tiny sample of just one game, you can’t help but wonder if United are going to get worse before they get better, as they familiarise themselves with Amorim’s demands.