Ruben Amorim has had trouble breaking down low blocks since arriving at Manchester United.
After some respite before the international break, David Moyes and Everton reminded everyone exactly how to stifle the Amorim’s 3-4-3 system. With one fewer man on the pitch, no less.
The worrying thing for Man Utd fans is that it’s nothing they haven’t seen before.
Whenever Man Utd have had to control the tempo of games, they’ve found it difficult to create space in the opposition half.
The remedy to this solution is something they have done before briefly. And need to do more often.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Why Man Utd struggle to break down low blocks
The changes in tactics this season that have worked for Amorim have been the tendency to go long more often.
As teams press Man Utd, the Red Devils have opted to kick long to Benjamin Sesko. The aim has been to hop on second balls or get on the end of Slovenian’s flick-ons.
With Sesko injured, Man Utd didn’t have their outlet against Everton. So, the Red Devils were left ambling around, bereft of attacking ideas.
The defeat to Everton highlighted an issue that emerged last season that Amorim has yet to find a solution to.
The painful Europa League final loss is another example of this. Ange Postecoglou changed his tactics to go pragmatic and let Man Utd have the ball in search of a goal.
As a result, Man Utd barely mustered a clear-cut chance in a crucial game. They often found it difficult to progress the ball up the pitch.
We also saw the problem against eventually-relegated Southampton last January. An Amad Diallow hat-trick could not mask the tactical issue.
The problem? Teams push their own full-back up to close Man Utd’s down, when they have it wide, and press them man-for-man.
With the forward line marking the three centre-backs, Man Utd are pushed back to their own penalty area, or into one corner. There’s no way of smoothly getting out of the press — or passing options.
It was one of the reasons Man Utd signed Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. When they drop deep as two No.10s, they are able to receive the ball on the turn and dribble past the press.
But you can only rely on both players’ dribbling abilities for so long. Especially with Cunha missing the Everton defeat due to injury.
Man Utd’s already-existing solution
Amorim is so wedded to his rigid system despite there being clear evidence that it has failed him multiple times.
Man Utd’s attempts to find gaps and space against low backs ends up with them repeating the same haphazard thing. Playing the ball from side to side in desperate hope that a moment will save them.
The solution is something they have previously done briefly, particularly with Lisandro Martinez before his injury.
As one of the outside centre-backs, Martinez would bomb forward from deep, travelling 40 yards or so with the ball. It’s similar to the runs Alessandro Bastoni makes at Inter Milan.
It broke the lines of pressure and also progressed the ball up the pitch into the opponent’s half. Just as Martinez was beginning to do this regularly for Man Utd, he got injured.
A lack of settled back three has also caused a problem. Amorim has had to rotate his options since taking over, whether that’s due to injuries or in-game changes. So it’s easy to understand why no other centre-back has realised the importance of carrying the ball from defence.
The changes Man Utd need to make
Luke Shaw is the current left-sided centre-back. But he hasn’t used his experience and knowledge as an overlapping full-back to join Man Utd’s build-up.
It could be that Amorim has not communicated this to Shaw or the full-back hasn’t realised this himself. But when Martinez was in the team, he frequently burst forward to create overloads and a numerical advantage on the wings.
Martinez’s memorable goal against Liverpool is an example of this. After some neat interchanges with Bruno Fernandes, the Argentinian dribbled his way into the box before smashing a shot in off the crossbar.
Amorim’s system shouldn’t become blunt based on two or three players being injured. Instead of waiting for Martinez to return in the winter, Amorim needs to instruct his left and right-sided centre-backs to be braver and travel with the ball at their feet.
Too often, when faced with a low block, it feels like Amorim opts to be conservative and hope things work out.
By deploying the assertive tactic of an overlapping centre-back, Amorim would finally be taking a risk to solve a conundrum that has plagued him since taking over as Man Utd coach.
