Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim insisted that the team’s formation is of far less importance than a mental aspect which has underpinned their inconsistent form this season.
Amorim watched on in a constant flux of shock and awe as his United side played out a 4–4 draw at home to Bournemouth on Monday night. The prematch dialogue had been dominated by talk of a change in formation from his 3-4-2-1—something which Amorim has previously been so anti he claimed that not even the Pope could force him into an alteration.
Those not drawn into the goal-fest at Old Trafford spent much of the contest trying to decipher which system Amorim had deployed. “That is for you to discuss, not me,” the United head coach smiled when quizzed by befuddled journalists in his postmatch press conference.
“I will say the same thing, you can play with the same players it looks like one thing [and] is another thing,” he cryptically added before addressing the reports which had filtered through the press ahead of Monday’s game. “I know that you guys know that I trained this week the back four—I don’t know how [you know]—but that is a good thing for you guys to discuss.”
Amad Diallo, whose positioning as a wingback was hotly debated, shed some light on the tactical instructions to the club’s official website: “I think it depends on the opponent. We work depending on the opponent, when sometimes we play as a 4-4-2, sometimes we play as a 3-4-3, sometimes also we play 4-3-3, maybe people outside don’t see. As a team, we can change.
“But the system doesn’t matter for us,” was the key message from Amad. One which Amorim shared.
“We are not winning games sometimes in the details not because it’s a back four, back three, back five,” Amorim told Sky Sports. “It’s the details that we need to work, understand the momentum of the game. You need to be more clinical, because today against a very good team we create so many chances to win the game.”
Of more concern to Amorim will be the chronic lack of control. United have gotten into a horrible habit of conceding goals in bunches. In five separate games this season, the opposition have found the net twice in 11 minutes or less. “We lost the concentration and they scored two goals,” the tactician bemoaned after Bournemouth scored twice in six second-half minutes.
| Game | Goal Minutes | Minutes Between Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Aug. 27 / Grimsby (A) | 22’, 30’ | 8 |
| Aug. 30 / Burnley (H) | 55’, 66’ | 11 |
| Nov. 1 / Nottingham Forest (A) | 48’, 50’ | 2 |
| Nov. 8 / Tottenham (A) | 84’, 90’+1 | 7 |
| Dec. 15 / Bournemouth (H) | 46’, 52’ | 6 |
System Change During AFCON
United’s tactical tweaks against Bournemouth were minimal but there could be a more significant shift for Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa given the personnel available. Amad and Bryan Mbeumo played their final matches before heading to the Africa Cup of Nations, while Noussair Mazraoui has already joined up with Morocco.
Without his entire right flank, Amorim will have to get creative. “That is the fun part of being a manager—you will try to find solutions with the players that we have,” he grinned. “After the last season, I think we are ready to cope with whatever they present in front of us.
“Let's move on. We already knew. We had some injuries. All the teams in England had injuries. We will try to find a way to score goals in a different way.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ruben Amorim Takes Surprise Stance on Man Utd’s Formation Debate .