Rúben Amorim must use unorthodox star to fix Manchester United’s build-up vs Fulham, Erik ten Hag was slammed for it

Rúben Amorim must look to use an unorthodox method to fix Manchester United’s build-up issues, even though Erik ten Hag was slammed for a similar decision.

Manchester United have been struggling in possession under Rúben Amorim, and it is affecting all areas of the team.

United’s inability to play out comfortably under pressure is evident to see, with teams feeling comfortable to put pressure on them regardless of where they sit in the table. This happens both at Old Trafford and away from home.

The incoming three-game suspension of Patrick Dorgu, sent off against Ipswich, further exacerbates this issue, with United losing a natural left-footed player who is technically and physically comfortable playing out against the pressure.

These build-up issues don’t just impact United’s first phase but actually contribute to the struggles of Joshua Zirkzee, Alejandro Garnacho, and Rasmus Højlund in the final third, something that has been a prominent point of discussion recently.

There are a couple of factors driving this, which we break down below before offering a potential solution.

Two driving factors behind the build-up issues

These build-up issues are partly driven by personnel with it being clear that United need to improve on the players they have, and with Lisandro Martínez and Amad injured these issues are heightened.

United do not have enough players who can consistently break lines through passing and carrying the ball, Noussair Mazraoui being the best at this from United’s defensive players, and also do not have enough players comfortable taking the ball on the turn when receiving and deal with pressure from behind – such as Amad – which makes it difficult to break pressure.

But it is also partly driven by the spacing in Amorim’s build-up phase. United’s players are packed too close together, often invading each others’ spaces and blocking out passing lanes. It is easy to shut off United’s shorter options to play through and around, often forcing United to play long over the press – where they don’t have the players to make the ball stick.

Dorgu’s presence improved this, offering natural width, but with Diogo Dalot now set to play there United will be forced inside even more with less avenues to play out.

One tactic Amorim has employed is instructing the middle player in his back three to step into the midfield, often Harry Maguire, but Matthijs de Ligt has featured here too. Neither are best optimised in these zones and are not natural there.

Often, the midfielders can be difficult to access, and with Andre Onana isolated from the build-up, instead of making an extra player in United’s backline when building, United are very easy to nullify in possession. With Diogo Dalot not a natural at wing back and Amad injured, United find it more difficult to play out on the right side.

There are a few positionally unorthodox solutions

Having looked to be frozen out under Amorim, Casemiro has returned to the team in recent games with several injuries in the midfield putting him back in the lineup, and immediately, his ability to play the ball vertically has stood out and had a positive impact on United’s possession.

With Amorim often asking his middle centre-back to step forward into a zone where you’d more often see a number six, playing Casemiro as the middle centre-back could be an option to improve United’s build-up.

Casemiro is much more natural in these zones than someone like Harry Maguire, having a better understanding of the spaces to occupy when in these zones and also being more comfortable with the ball there.

Although Erik ten Hag was slammed for using Casemiro as an auxiliary centre-back, the fact he would slot into a back three instead of a back two covers for the issues it created last campaign.

Diogo Dalot has struggled to play high and wide on the touchline – especially when out of position on the left, but with Casemiro stepping up, Dalot could potentially drop into a more natural full-back position and make a situational back four with the wide centre-back moving inside slightly and Noussair Mazraoui dropping into a natural full-back position.

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Dalot could even invert from wing-back to form a double pivot should Casemiro remain in midfield and allow Bruno Fernandes to push a little bit higher up, with Alejandro Garnacho pulling out to offer more natural width and a one-against-one threat on United’s left side.

Having André Onana step up slightly and join the backline in the build-up phase would further improve this, adding in an extra body to support the first line – who come under a lot of pressure – and could also make more use of the ball-playing capabilities that were such a key factor in United signing him in summer 2023.

Dalot has always looked most comfortable playing on the inside. He is one of United’s better players at receiving on the half turn and can also break lines well through his passing and carrying qualities. The wing-back position has not suited him so far, but this tactical tweak from Amorim could see him return to the levels he performed at under Erik ten Hag.

Playing Casemiro in the defence also reduces the amount of space he has to cover compared to the midfield pivot, where he struggles to cover large amounts of space now. He has many qualities that could allow him to thrive in this position, and this upcoming weekend could be a good chance to test it out.

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