Bruno Fernandes and his positioning have been a hot topic of discussion in Ruben Amorim’s system, but it’s another player who will determine its success or failure.
The midfield getting overrun has been a constant issue for Man Utd fans, analysts, and pundits this season, even when United have won.
Most of the blame for that has fallen in Ruben Amorim’s corner, with his insistence on fielding Bruno Fernandes as a deeper midfielder a key reason behind this.
However, Fernandes’ positioning will cease to be an issue if another player, who nobody is talking about in the same vein, masters what Amorim wants from him.
Bruno Fernandes’ tactical dilemma in Ruben Amorim’s system
Before going on to analyse the player who can fix the dilemma created by Fernandes’ position, we need to understand what the dilemma is.
Fernandes is an extremely hard-working player, but one whose work can often come at the cost of positional discipline.
He is prone to leaving his position and going chasing after the ball to win it back as quickly as possible, sometimes, at the cost of the team’s shape.
That’s fine if he’s playing as an attacking midfielder, since there are players behind him who sweep up his mistakes and cover the gaps.
It becomes a problem that United are having right now if he plays deeper, because it leaves his midfield partner on an island, with spaces impossible to cover for one player.
Amorim had two energetic midfielders who excelled in both boxes at Sporting, and was helped by Sporting being far superior in quality compared to most teams in the league.
It’s why this issue wasn’t as chronic in Portugal. Neither is the case at Old Trafford, however, which means Fernandes needs to be helped by his teammate to make the system tick.
Leny Yoro is the key to making everything work
If Fernandes is going to orchestrate the press by running up the pitch, then the problem of having a single midfielder to repel attacks can be helped only in one way.
That is, one of Amorim’s three centre-backs needs to push up and meet the attackers higher up the pitch, while the other two split to create a back four out of possession with two wing-backs-turned-full-backs.
To perform that role, however, the centre-back needs to have remarkable athleticism and, more importantly, recovery pace.
He needs to be able to engage the attacker in midfield, while having the pace to cover space behind him if the initial engagement fails to win the ball back.
In United’s current backline, Leny Yoro is most suited to play this role because of the combination of his physicality, pace, and long reach.
It was notable that Amorim played De Ligt on the right against Chelsea, because his tactical understanding of the role is much more than Yoro’s right now.
De Ligt dominated, but United would ideally have his skills in the central slot, where he can act as a sweeper and head the balls away while engaging attackers deeper into the box once they break through the midfield.
Yoro needs to get that understanding of jumping triggers and when and how to engage the attacker in midfield from a wide centre-back role.
That will solve United’s midfield problem because, in simple terms, Yoro will be a destroyer defensive midfielder out of possession, and a defensive full-back with the ball to help with ball circulation.
He has all the tools to excel in that role. He just needs time to understand that complex role. It will solve the problem that many think Fernandes has caused.
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