Ruben Amorim’s new Man Utd set-piece solution provides clear boost for £47m star

Ruben Amorim has explained a solution to how Manchester United can improve their set-piece situation after significant troubles this season.

Manchester United have had patchy form since new head coach Ruben Amorim took charge of the club in November.

The Reds have won just four games in the 39-year-old’s opening 10 fixtures and set-pieces have proven to be a real problem for them.

United have conceded 10 set-piece goals in the Premier League this season and eight of the 19 conceded under Amorim have also come from set-pieces.

It is becoming a problem that other clubs are beginning to purposively take advantage of and Amorim needs to find a solution fast.

Amorim explains United set-piece solution

The United head coach spoke about the way his side defends set-pieces after the recent defeat to Wolves, where United conceded the opener from a corner.

André Onana allowed Matheus Cunha to score directly from the corner kick. Some argued he was being fouled by two Wolves players but Amorim was asked whether his goalkeeper should have been stronger.

“After a defeat I don’t want to talk about that,” responded Amorim. “But you can see that every corner nowadays is an opportunity.

“Sometimes you forget the small guys and the talented guys, you put 11 guys for corners or free-kicks if you can do everything inside the box.

“That is the rules and we can’t cry about it but do the same thing, we have to focus on doing the same thing to the opponents. That is my goal at the moment.”

The United boss was then asked whether he needs bigger players in order to succeed in that goal, but he assured that the ‘smaller guys’ can do it as well.

“No,” he stated. “What I’m saying is that set-pieces are becoming so important you can do everything.

“So, we have to learn it and do the same thing, even with the smaller guys, you just have to copy and do the same thing, use the rules to score goals from set-pieces.”

Amorim’s comments are a boost for Martínez

It is quite clear that Amorim is referring to the ‘dark arts’ that many teams are beginning to employ at set-piece situations.

We see players blocking runners, nudging their markers in the back and other tactics that give the team a better opportunity of scoring. These things are let go in the Premier League at the moment and United are not taking advantage.

Jurrien Timber scored against the Reds by nudging Rasmus Højlund in the back and creating space for the header. He is 5’10, displaying that you don’t necessarily have to be tall to do this.

That might be good news for Lisandro Martínez, who has received criticism in recent weeks for some of his performances.

The Argentine defender, who was signed in the summer of 2022 for an initial £47 million, was labelled a ‘little boy’ when United conceded a set-piece against Nottingham Forest.

Some have questioned the 26-year-old’s height since he joined United and those questions have heightened during United’s recent set-piece difficulties.

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However, with Amorim explaining that the shorter players can still have a much better impact in such situations, it is a boost for the defender.

Martínez has previously shown that he can read play well in the air despite his height, using nudges or an early jump to put off opponents and win the ball. Those same things could be used more by United players at set-pieces.

Amorim seems to think that United need to be more street smart in these situations, and for now, he believes he can do that with a smaller defender like Martínez in his team.

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