Manchester United have played better overall this season, but still leave a lot to be desired defensively.
Ruben Amorim has weathered the storm after a tough start to the season. The Red Devils were winless in their first three games, including a home loss to Arsenal, an away draw at Fulham and an embarrassing result against Grismby that saw them knocked out of the Carabao Cup early on.
Things started to get better after that and they even had a three-game win streak, which certainly left one specific fan hopeful for a first haircut in quite some time.
And despite going from that to a run of three matches without a win, they got all three points away at Crystal Palace last time around.
What are Man Utd missing to dream big again?
Is Amorim’s system reliable?
Man Utd are definitely better this season. That may not sound like much, considering they finished 15th last year. But they have actually played well after the bad start. Ruben Amorim even earned a bit of ‘rest’ regarding all the talks about his system and his philosophies.
The Portuguese manager has maintained most of his beliefs – which doesn’t mean he’s not flexible tactically. There were clear adjustments this campaign, like fully embracing a more direct approach and going long more often. But they are also capable of stringing good passing sequences on the ground too.
Regardless of the answer, it looks like Amorim will have time to try and fully implement his style at Old Trafford. And there are good and bad news.
Better going forward, still lacking at the back
Man Utd have been one of the most productive attacking units in the Premier League this season.
They may take a lot of shots from outside the box (67, second most in the league), but they also fire from close range a lot. And by having more atempts, they increase their chances of scoring – no matter how unlikely.
At the same time, however, the Red Devils have been rather vulnerable at the back. The fact that they have been one of the less busy defences in the league highlights how much danger opponents create when they do get shots off.
Man Utd have scored 2+ goals in six of their last seven Premier League matches. It feels like they can get a goal at any given time, but the same applies to conceding.
Their only clean sheet of the season so far has been the 2-0 win over Sunderland – and they did allow the Black Cats two clear-cut goalscoring opportunities.
How to fix it?
At this point, nobody thinks of Man Utd as the giant they once were. So it feels relatively normal to see that they have real struggles.
But it also makes sense that their defence is vulnerable considering their squad. Way too often they find themselves with full-backs filling in at centre-back, like Luke Shaw and Noussair Mazraoui. Another common trend has been wingers playing at wing-back, mainly with Amad Diallo.
It’s hard to build a solid defensive system with so many improvisations. Lisandro Martinez has made his return and could help, but will need time to get rhythm back. Other than him, it’s just Matthis De Ligt, Leny Yoro and Harry Maguire. Adding better central defenders could go a long way helping them get better in this department.
There is one counterpoint, though. Maybe Man Utd have reached a high level offensively precisely because of these improvisations. Bruno Fernandes playing deeper, wingers at wing-back and full-backs at centre-back might allow them to have more bodies in the final third and present more danger to the opposition.
The profile of centre-midfielders is another issue. But the Red Devils have reportedly looked into signing more dynamic players capable of covering larger distances.
Anyway, it feels like there is a world in which Amorim remains mainly loyal to his system and the team does roughly the same things – but better, because of the overall quality available.
It may take a few transfer windows and they need to get recruitment right, but it is possible.