Rio Ferdinand has broken down what Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is doing with two of his key first-team players in his tactical system at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim faced a flood of early criticism in the 2025-26 Premier League campaign over his tactics at Manchester United after a mixed run of form.
The 40-year-old United manager has stuck with his blueprint at Old Trafford and has refused to pivot from a system that he successfully implemented during his time at Sporting CP.
The Red Devils have shown moments where they have ‘clicked’ in Amorim’s tactical system for United, but pundits have remained deeply sceptical about it at times.
However, United have looked better under Amorim in recent weeks after winning their last three consecutive Premier League matches under the Portuguese coach.
Man Utd legend Rio Ferdinand explains what Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are offering Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford
Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha arrived at Old Trafford in the summer and the Manchester United summer signings have deeply impressed for the Red Devils.
Matheus Cunha has been a lively attacking threat for the Red Devils and finally opened his goalscoring account in United’s 4-2 win over Brighton on Saturday.
Bryan Mbeumo, on the other hand, has been arguably the Red Devils’ standout performer this season and he scored a stunning brace for United against Brighton.
When discussing the narrative around Ruben Amorim being ‘stubborn’ over his tactics, Rio Ferdinand said on his podcast: “I think Cunha and Mbeumo, especially their roles, are hugely significant because they enable us to be able to transition quickly and retain possession a lot of the time.
“I think Cunha keeps the ball in the tiniest of situations with three or four people around him ridiculously well.
“And Mbeumo, he’ll end up getting a shot off or he’ll create something all the time, and makes it hard for defenders.”
He added on Rio Ferdinand Presents: “Those aspects are huge.
“So, the manager then can go, ‘Actually, I’ll play maybe a little bit of a different way now.’ And what he’s been good at as well is being able to go right.
“With knowing what I just said about the three strikers there, he’s been good at saying, ‘Oh, actually, there are times in the game when we don’t have to go on press, we can stand off. We can stand off and have two blocks and go right. But when we win it, we will be a threat.’”
Rio Ferdinand singles out Man Utd midfielder Casemiro amid Ruben Amorim’s tactical approach
Casemiro has been playing in the two-man midfield pivot alongside Bruno Fernandes and the midfielder has become a key first-team pick for United head coach Amorim.
United legend Ferdinand believes that the 33-year-old Brazil international is having to adapt to an entirely different style of football at Old Trafford.
“All of the time, we’ve been sitting here and saying, ‘Amorim’s got a style of football and the way he’s playing,’” he explained.
“And that’s it, he’s not going to change. And I was saying a couple of weeks ago, he’s asking a lot of players to play a game that’s almost alien to him.”
Ferdinand continued: “So, we were talking about Casemiro there. He was playing a type of football that he’s never played. It never got him the move to Man United.
“It never got him to five Champions Leagues. It was totally different to the way that he’d played football before and tactically. And there [were], I think, too many players in that sense.”
United are sixth in the Premier League table and are one point outside of the top four after their win over Brighton at Old Trafford on Saturday evening.
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