\nPart two, on Arsenal, is here<\/a>
\nPart three, on Tottenham Hotspur, is here<\/a>
\nPart four, on Liverpool, is here<\/a>
\nPart five, on Chelsea, is here<\/a><\/p>\n
In one single Saturday afternoon, the gloom and despair enveloping Old Trafford was vanquished, replaced by a wave of ecstatic disbelief. Manchester United defeated neighbours Manchester City 2-0 at the weekend in Michael Carrick\u2019s first game in interim charge, following Ruben Amorim\u2019s sacking after 14 months in the job.<\/p>\n
Amorim produced his share of marquee results during a turbulent spell in Manchester, but most \u2014 including the 2-1 defeat of champions Liverpool at Anfield earlier this season \u2014 were of the smash-and-grab variety.<\/p>\n
Saturday, however, brought a comprehensive victory, and it would have been even more convincing had United\u2019s forwards timed their runs fractionally better, with three further \u2018goals\u2019 ruled out for offside. Defensively, United conceded just 0.47 expected goals, which was City\u2019s lowest tally for that metric in a Premier League game since February 2021.<\/p>\n
It was a much-needed catharsis after the lows of Amorim\u2019s reign, which ended with a record of 24 wins from 63 matches \u2014 just 38.1 per cent.<\/p>\n
To Amorim\u2019s credit, United\u2019s form had improved this season, following their dismal 15th-place finish in 2024-25.<\/p>\n
The graphic below plots their 10-game rolling average for points per game and shows a clear uptick in their results in the late autumn. The shaded green areas mark periods of \u2018good form\u2019, defined by The Athletic\u2019s Mark Carey as any five-game stretch where the rolling average is more than one-third above the previous 38 matches.<\/p>\n
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The run started with the 2-0 home win against Sunderland in early October and ended with a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace in late November. Amorim was named Premier League Manager of the Month for October midway through a seven-game stretch that brought four wins, two draws and one defeat.<\/p>\n
Results dipped again thereafter, but there were mitigating circumstances.<\/p>\n
Amorim\u2019s final line-up, a 1-1 draw with Leeds United, featured wing-back Patrick Dorgu deployed as a makeshift inside forward in his renowned 3-4-2-1 system. Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount were unavailable through injury, while Bryan Mbeumo and Amad \u2014 other more natural candidates for the role \u2014 were absent on Africa Cup of Nations duty.<\/p>\n
When Amorim departed, United were sixth and just three points off fourth. Some of that improvement was simply a rebound from last season\u2019s disastrous form, but the numbers stood up in their own right: United ranked third in the league for expected goal (xG) difference<\/a> per game.<\/p>\n Even with those improvements, Amorim\u2019s tactical vision never felt a wholly convincing fit for this squad. Carrick has overseen just one game so far, but has already made tactical adjustments that appear better suited to the players at his disposal.<\/p>\n Here, The Athletic breaks down Amorim\u2019s tactical approach \u2014 what it was trying to achieve, where it fell short \u2014 and how Carrick has already begun to address some of those shortcomings.<\/p>\n \n Ruben Amorim has departed, but his imprint on the Manchester United squad is still strong (Darren Staples\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n \u2018English football from the past\u2019<\/p>\n Right from the off, Amorim tried \u2014 unsuccessfully \u2014 to downplay what would become the defining thread of his time in charge: the formation. \u201cA lot of people talk about the 3-4-3 and the 4-3-3 and all that stuff,\u201d he said in his first interview with the club\u2019s in-house media. \u201cThe most important thing for me at this moment is to create the principles.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, Amorim argued that he used the 3-4-2-1 to \u201csimply start from a base\u201d, before his team would morph into various fluid systems higher up the pitch in an attempt to pull apart opposition defences.<\/p>\n That \u201cbase\u201d was most evident in United\u2019s build-up play. Wing-backs stretched the pitch, offering easy outlets as the ball progressed from defence into midfield. Five of United\u2019s six most common passing routes from the defensive third run through wide areas, underlining the importance of the wings in their build-up structure.<\/p>\n United experienced growing pains as they adapted to this unconventional setup. Across Amorim\u2019s 27 Premier League games last season after succeeding Erik ten Hag in the November, they lost possession in their own third 5.8 times per match \u2014 a figure surpassed only by Tottenham (6.04 losses per match).<\/p>\n Despite a 1-0 home defeat against Arsenal<\/a>, Amorim saw early signs of improvement in this area in the opening game of this season, with United more composed when circulating the ball. \u201cWe lost fewer balls in the build-up compared to last year, when we struggled a lot,\u201d he told reporters afterwards.<\/p>\n That improvement continued as the season wore on, with United sharply reducing those possession losses to 3.3 per match. Part of that was down to increased familiarity, but it also reflected a tactical shift towards a more direct approach. United gave opponents fewer opportunities to force high turnovers, eschewing patient build-up for a more direct approach.<\/p>\n United\u2019s \u2018direct speed\u2019 \u2014 a measure of how quickly the ball travels upfield \u2014 rose from 1.02 metres per second last season to 1.29m\/s, the largest increase among clubs competing in the Premier League across both campaigns. At the same time, their passes per sequence fell from 3.8 to 3.3.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you need a lot of touches, you will understand that you need a lot of touches,\u201d Amorim said. \u201cIf you need one, put the ball. The fans want to see a different game. We are in England. I try to show you a little bit of English football from the past.\u201d<\/p>\n On Saturday at Old Trafford, with City dominating possession but leaving gaps in transition, United leaned into that approach more than at any other point this season, recording a direct speed of 2.07 m\/s and their second-highest long-ball share (15.2 per cent).<\/p>\n They rarely built from the back, finishing the game with a season-low 32.5 per cent possession. Carrick\u2019s counterpunching tactics worked perfectly, but Pep Guardiola\u2019s City are a special case. Most of United\u2019s games will instead see them tasked with breaking down stubborn low blocks.<\/p>\n How Carrick navigates that challenge will shape his reign, but on this occasion he made a simple decision which should help: picking players in their natural positions.<\/p>\n Amorim showed a curious reluctance to trust Kobbie Mainoo, failing to start him in a league match this season, despite the 20-year-old academy graduate being United\u2019s only naturally creative option in central midfield. To compensate for that imbalance, he dropped Fernandes into the double pivot, which helped with progression from deep, but meant that his Portuguese countryman\u2019s talents were less visible in decisive areas of the pitch.<\/p>\n \n (Michael Regan\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Restored to his natural No 10 role on Saturday, Fernandes created six chances \u2014 his joint-highest tally this season \u2014 including a perfectly weighted through-ball for Mbeumo\u2019s opener.<\/p>\n Improved wide combinations<\/p>\n United may show greater variety in how they reach the final third, but once there, the principles of their attacking play remained largely unchanged under Amorim. Instead of relying on individual dribbling to break down compact defences, they prioritised rehearsed combination play, with take-on completions falling from 8.18 per 90 minutes under Ten Hag to 6.18 with Amorim at the wheel.<\/p>\n A familiar wrinkle in these combinations is the use of third-man runners, with centre-backs punching passes into midfield to draw markers and release runners in behind. United\u2019s 2.95 through balls per 90 minutes this season is their highest figure across the past eight campaigns.<\/p>\n Wide combination play is another familiar feature, and one that has sharpened this season. Increased time on the training ground has helped \u2014 Amorim repeatedly pointed to his lack of a pre-season with the players during that first year. Mbeumo\u2019s summer arrival from Brentford as a right-sided No 10 has improved United\u2019s ability to link play on that flank, with his relationship with Amad proving especially fruitful.<\/p>\n Below are the season-by-season passing networks for United under Amorim.<\/p>\n The overall shape for the two is remarkably consistent and familiar, but notice the difference in the line colouring. These links are shaded according to the quality of passes exchanged between players, with greener connections indicating stronger relationships. On the right side, the improvement is particularly pronounced.<\/p>\n Amorim\u2019s setup was designed to create overloads. With the wing-backs high, United could crowd one flank, and on the right (this season), Mbeumo and Amad often rotated intelligently, pulling defenders wide to open space inside.<\/p>\n The GIF below shows both players executing this movement in the build-up to Mount\u2019s goal in the 2-0 win against Sunderland.<\/p>\n The frequency of these movements is reflected in the numbers.<\/p>\n SkillCorner defines a pulling-wide run as a movement that starts in the centre or half-space<\/a> and ends in the wide channel, finishing wider than the player in possession. By that measure, Mbeumo leads United this season with 53 such runs, with Amad close behind on 44.<\/p>\n Before the 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest in November, Amorim described his approach as \u201ca numbers game\u201d. But when opponents mirrored his structure with a back five of their own, those numerical advantages were harder to come by.<\/p>\n In November\u2019s 1-0 home defeat against Everton<\/a>, a game played largely against 10 men after Idrissa Gueye\u2019s dismissal in the 13th minute, the opposition retreated into what was effectively a back six. United failed to commit a centre-back further forward to take advantage of their numerical advantage, and with few overload opportunities, the lack of individual spontaneity and risk-taking was glaring.<\/p>\n A soft centre<\/p>\n But the biggest thorn in Amorim\u2019s reign was that, for all the extra protection of a back three, United still looked porous.<\/p>\n This issue was most keenly felt in central midfield. United\u2019s double pivot<\/a> often paired Fernandes \u2014 a creator rather than a defensive enforcer \u2014 with Casemiro, who, at age 33 (34 next month), can no longer cover the amount of ground he used to.<\/p>\n The pitch map below shows the percentage of passes played into different zones against United, compared with their six-season Premier League average, highlighting a soft central area.<\/p>\n United\u2019s double pivot was often outnumbered by three-man midfields. To counteract this, one of the centre-backs is supposed to \u201cjump\u201d forward into midfield in mid-block situations, and restore numerical parity.<\/p>\n The timing of that movement proved difficult, though. Centre-backs were often hesitant to step out, a hesitation that teams exploited. \u201cWe knew that we would be able to get behind their two midfielders, and their three centre-backs wouldn\u2019t want to jump,\u201d Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi said after the teams\u2019 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage in August.<\/p>\n Carrick, by contrast, simplified the demands on his centre-backs.<\/p>\n Rather than asking them to execute these risky forward jumps into midfield, United looked to plug gaps against City on Saturday through recovery runs from ahead of the ball. In the example below, Rodri picks out Phil Foden between the lines, but Patrick Dorgu is alert and sprints back from left midfield to close the space and win back possession.<\/p>\n Fernandes, who recorded 17 defensive actions against City \u2014 the third most in the match \u2014 was particularly diligent in this regard. \u201cHe had a disciplined role defensively as well, to protect the team from anything through the middle as much as possible,\u201d Carrick said afterwards.<\/p>\n Overall, United showed few of the out-of-possession issues on Saturday that have plagued them this season. \u201cWe needed to be compact and needed the distances as short as possible between the units and between the positions,\u201d said Carrick, and the image below shows the narrow 4-4-2 structure they adopted without the ball.<\/p>\n United did not simply drop deep and preserve this shape; they also disrupted City\u2019s build-up through their pressing.<\/p>\n In the sequence below, Rodri drops deep to initiate play, but Mainoo steps out aggressively to track him, joining Mbeumo and Fernandes in the press. Behind them, Amad and Dorgu tucked inside alongside Casemiro to form a temporary three-man midfield.<\/p>\n That dynamic of Mainoo pushing forward and Casemiro shifting across to screen the space behind allowed United to nullify Rodri\u2019s influence without compromising their defensive solidity. Mainoo \u2014 frequently criticised by Amorim for his off-ball work \u2014 covered ground relentlessly, as shown by the map below of his pressing actions.<\/p>\n United also displayed a quality largely absent under Amorim: composure when ahead. As the graph below shows, United rank second in the Premier League for expected goal difference when trailing, and joint-second best when level, but struggle when in the lead.<\/p>\n They have dropped 14 points from winning positions this season, struggling to control the tempo to see out games. \u201cIt\u2019s understanding of the game, and how to play the game in different moments,\u201d said Amorim in his press conference after facing Bournemouth last month, a home game United led three times but ultimately drew 4-4<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Saturday, they showed that understanding, remaining calm after taking the lead, and even more so once Dorgu doubled their advantage in the 76th minute. Composure was a theme Carrick was keen to stress in the post-match glow.<\/p>\n United have long been capable of producing landmark victories; where they have fallen short over the past decade is in backing them up with consistent performances across a campaign.<\/p>\n Even allowing for Carrick\u2019s sensible caution, that derby win at the weekend offered enough evidence that he possesses the tactical nous to get this faltering United side back on track.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is the final part of a series on The Athletic\u00a0taking the tactical temperature at each of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[3788,1084,403,99],"class_list":["post-418270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-manchester-united","tag-premier-league","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2252862803-scaled.jpg\")
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