Ruben Amorim says two Man Utd players are at their best when they don’t play to his system, ‘It’s hard for me…’

Add as preferred source on Google

Manchester United avoided falling into a genuine relegation battle with a gritty 3-2 win against Ipswich at Old Trafford.

Nothing is coming easy for Man Utd right now and this win was no different, with United trailing early, then being pegged back before winning with ten men.

At least the Man Utd squad showed the character they’ve been accused of lacking far too many times this season but again, the performance leaves many questions unanswered.

They needed a monstrous Bruno Fernandes performance to get a win here and Ruben Amorim recognised the dissonance between his methods and the players after the game.

Ruben Amorim admits to dilemma over two Man Utd stars

Amorim has been squarely in the crosshairs of critics who have urged him to change his system to get some results now but the Man Utd manager has been relentless.

It has sometimes led to disjointed performances but the manager has maintained that it’s necessary to do this to get rid of bad habits in the long term.

One of those bad habits crept up in the second half against Ipswich, when United fell back after scoring the third, eager to protect their lead.

However, despite Ipswich attacking in waves, United didn’t look that threatened because Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire kept sweeping up the danger in a low block.

More than encouragement, it was a worrying sign for Amorim, another instance of the players doing better when they don’t play to his system.

He said: “It’s hard for me. Sometimes, you are fighting and I make that analysis also- when we are together, players like [Maguire] and [De Ligt] defending the box, they are really strong but when they have to cover a lot of space the game changes for them.

“I have to not just think about now. Of course, we need to survive but it’s really hard for me to play like we did in the second half but the players are more comfortable defending in the low block.”

Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire can’t play together

It is an admission Amorim has made previously as well, but it rings true more than ever that Maguire and De Ligt can’t play together in his ideal Man Utd XI.

It is a big reason why the midfield often looks emptied since Bruno Fernandes is tasked with playing defender, midfielder, and attacker all at once while these two centre-backs drop deep naturally due to lack of pace.

The second player in midfield is then left with a thankless job, and so is the third centre-back as the offside line is dragged back due to Maguire and De Ligt.

If United need to secure a win after leading by clearing away crosses and passes in their own box, this duo is ideal.

But Amorim wants to turn it into a more proactive, bossing United, and for that, they can’t play together in the long run.