Rúben Amorim must look to undo one of his recent Manchester United changes following a “shocking” display against Brentford.
Manchester United fell to their third defeat in six Premier League matches as Rúben Amorim’s side were beaten 3-1 by Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
United started brightly, looking to overload the hosts, but Brentford struck first through Igor Thiago in the ninth minute. The striker beat Amorim’s offside trap and fired past Altay Bayındır before doubling his tally 10 minutes later.
Benjamin Šeško pulled one back with a scrappy finish, yet United couldn’t find an equaliser before half-time.
After a quiet start to the second half, Amorim introduced Kobbie Mainoo and Leny Yoro to try to shift the momentum. Bryan Mbeumo then won a penalty, but after a long delay, Bruno Fernandes’ spot-kick was saved.
United added more attackers late on, though Brentford held firm and sealed the win when Mathias Jensen lashed in a stoppage-time third.
De Ligt had “shocking” moments vs Brentford
Many were surprised to see that Leny Yoro has once again been spared from selection as Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt started alongside Shaw, with the Dutch defender on the right of the back three.
Quite quickly, it became apparent that De Ligt looked uncomfortable with some “shocking” moments in the opening 25 minutes of the tie.
Overall, De Ligt’s statistics shine a kinder light on the player, as he won all three of his attempted tackles, made seven clearances, and won four of his five ground duels.
His three tackles were the most won across the entire fixture, while he also completed 51 of his 53 attempted passes, and four of his clearances came with his head.
Amorim must look to reverse centre-back change
United’s last two fixtures, against Chelsea and Brentford, have seen De Ligt start on the right of the back three, with Maguire in the middle and Shaw on the left.
While Maguire’s playing adds extra theoretical aerial dominance, his inclusion forces the Netherlands international to play wide, which is the weaker of his possible positions.
With 30 minutes left to play, Leny Yoro came on to play on the right with De Ligt in the middle, and United looked much better, with the Frenchman’s speed helping to marshal Brentford counterattacks and compensating for his teammate’s slower pace in the middle of the park.
Amorim must look to reverse the recent change and put their Dutch defender back in the middle of the back three, even if it means dropping Maguire. Yoro has been performing well so far this season, but was dropped to make way for the English defender.
It’s hard to see an argument for this change being worth it. With one tie left before the international break, coming in the form of a home fixture against Sunderland, Amorim must revert to play Yoro as the wider defender and De Ligt in the middle, with either Shaw or Ayden Heaven on the left.
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