Rúben Amorim has been informed of a major flaw in Liverpool’s system that he must look to target as Manchester United travel to face Liverpool at Anfield.
Manchester United enter the October international break in a much better mood than they did in September, after a 2–0 victory over Sunderland at Old Trafford secured a vital three points.
Mason Mount netted his first goal of the campaign, Benjamin Šeško scored his second for the club, and debutant Senne Lammens marked the occasion with United’s first clean sheet of the season.
But a far greater challenge awaits in just under two weeks, as Rúben Amorim’s side travel to Anfield to face Liverpool once domestic action returns.
United have not won there since January 2016, when Wayne Rooney’s late strike earned Louis van Gaal’s team a memorable victory.
Ferdinand pinpoints major Liverpool flaw United must exploit
Liverpool have not reached the performance heights they showed last season, with star players such as Mohammed Salah and Ibrahima Konaté failing to impress consistently. After winning their first five Premier League games, Arne Slot’s men have lost their last three across all competitions.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, former United defender and legend Rio Ferdinand has pinpointed a lack of balance in midfield as a key issue that the Merseyside giants are currently facing.
“I think balance in their team is the issue — that’s the key thing, finding the right balance,” Ferdinand explained when delving into the problems Liverpool are facing.
“They’ve gone from having three midfielders — [Dominik] Szoboszlai, [Ryan] Gravenberch, and [Alexis] McAllister — all good grafters, all get around the pitch, all can cover for other people and make big sacrifices in their own game for others in the team, especially in wide areas at times.
“Whereas, like you say, with [Florian] Wirtz coming in now, he’s not scoring, he’s not really assisting, he’s not really impacting games.
“He’s working his nuts off, but he’s not having the impact they probably anticipated. And like you said, with all the attacking players on the show, they’re starting to get picked off.
Furthermore, the 46-year-old also noted that the right-hand side of Liverpool’s defence is a particular flaw in their current system, and players like Matheus Cunha or Mount, the latter of whom was “impressive” against Sunderland, could be key in exploiting this vulnerability.
“I think on their right-hand side of defence, that right-back area, you’ve got Szoboszlai filling in there at times, and he’s not a natural right-back,” Ferdinand continued.
“You’ve got Konaté, who looks a little bit in and out of form at the moment. I think that’d be an area I’d be looking at and saying, ‘Listen, Mason Mount or Cunha — I’d be happy with either of them going in there.’”
United still have their own weaknesses to deal with
Despite encouragement that Amorim’s men can exploit weaknesses within Liverpool’s line-up, they still have their own issues to deal with.
Lammens’ debut was a real positive against Sunderland, but heading to Anfield is a different test entirely for the 23-year-old, who is reportedly expected to start the game. At the same time, United’s midfield remains an issue.
While Liverpool’s midfield problem stems from a lack of balance, United’s glaring issue is that there are only two players in the middle of the park, which makes it very easy for opposition players to overload in central areas, play around the United pair, and attack Amorim’s back line.
It feels most likely that Amorim will choose his first-choice duo of Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes for the position.
But, if Mount plays as Ferdinand suggested, it may be seen that the English midfielder will, at times, drop next to them to add a third body while Bryan Mbeumo joins Šeško up front in a 4-4-2 shape, just as was on display against Sunderland.
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