A tactical change proved crucial in Manchester United’s comfortable 2-0 win against Sunderland at Old Trafford; Rúben Amorim must continue with it.
Rúben Amorim has come under lots of scrutiny in recent weeks, with many suggesting that the manager was on borrowed time and that a sacking was inevitable. However, his side won comfortably against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester United were the better side across the 90 minutes, with goals coming from Mason Mount and Benjamin Šeško to take victory. Amorim will be pleased with his side’s performance, although improvements can still be made.
The biggest criticism of Amorim has been his stubbornness with his system, especially his 3-4-2-1 formation that hasn’t been seen at Old Trafford under any other manager. Many believe that the majority of his problems would be solved with a switch to a 4-3-3.
However, United’s win against Sunderland proved that Amorim can stick with his principles and remain in charge. He made one tactical change – that hasn’t been seen since pre-season – that made United much more solid defensively.
Amorim reverts to a 4-4-2 without the ball
For the first time since pre-season, Amorim reverted to a 4-4-2 structure without the ball against Sunderland. Mount dropped back into midfield, while Šeško and Bryan Mbeumo stayed more advanced. Amad stayed in line with the midfield, and Diogo Dalot dropped in to form a back four.
A 4-4-2 formation is well known for being difficult to break down, and – apart from a chance in the opening three minutes – Sunderland struggled to penetrate the United defence.
With Mount dropping deeper, Le Bris’ team found it harder than most opposition to overload the United midfield. The tactical change forced Sunderland to make one of their own in the 37th minute, with a left-winger making way for a central defender.
The 4-4-2 without the ball also helped United in possession, with Mbeumo closer to Šeško, allowing for a quicker counterattack if Bruno Fernandes could find one of the frontline after winning the ball.
One popular United fan – known as ‘H’ on X – said: “Need to see it more, man,” when referring to the 4-4-2 shape out-of-possession.
Can Cunha play in the 4-4-2?
Matheus Cunha started on the bench – with Mount taking his place – despite his good performances this season. Perhaps, Amorim realised Cunha can’t play the role Mount was asked to play out of possession.
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Just minutes after coming on, Cunha was seen walking back and losing his man, with Šeško forced to run back instead. Amorim was seen shouting at the Brazilian for his poor work rate.
If Cunha had started in Mount’s role, he may have stayed higher, and United wouldn’t have played the 4-4-2 structure.
Assuming Amorim wants to find a way for Cunha in the 4-4-2, he may have to play him in the more advanced position, with Mbeumo dropping back instead, although this would force Amad into a natural right-back role, so Noussair Mazraoui could be a better choice there.
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