Manager Gary Neville has raised serious questions about Manchester United’s tactical approach during Tuesday night’s Premier League clash with Wolves after the Red Devils were unable to capitalize on their win against Newcastle United in a disappointing 1-1 stalemate. Manager Ruben Amorim has stuck to a 3-4-3 formation since taking over in November 2024, but opted for a 4-2-3-1 setup in the win over Newcastle.
With Brian Mbeumo and Amad out for AFCON and Bruno Fernandes out injured, the United manager has made a surprising adjustment to his team selection. Patrick Dorg was used on the right-wing against Newcastle and scored the winning goal, while Luke Shaw returned to his natural left-back role after playing primarily as a left-sided centre-half. However, in the match against Wolves, Amorim changed his starting line-up and brought in Joshua Zirkzee after Mason Mount was sidelined with an injury.
United struggled to control the game for the first 25 minutes and looked like they had no chance against Wolves, who had scored just two points all season.
Neville expressed confusion at United’s tactical blueprint on Sky Sports, raising concerns about the positioning of four specific players.
“This is also not right,” he said. “So I think I’ve watched enough United games in the last five or six weeks. I’ve watched six of the last seven games to know what’s right and what’s not right and I was really surprised.”
“On the right side, Zirksee is almost a right-back, Dalot is a right wing-back, Aiden Haven is a right-centre back and Dorg has to run back a left-back who is not playing well.
“It wasn’t as good as the last few games where they were playing in different positions, but it’s safe to say that. I think that’s what the fans are thinking inside this stadium. They’re in the exact same spot as us.
“Thanks to the adjustments in the last couple of games, his performance has been much better, but tonight he went back to a 3-4-3, but the problem is he has players in his system.”
“Zirksee in this right channel, obviously he’s going to Central now. Dalot here, always having to go back, that’s not right. Tonight they play a team that’s struggling, so there’s a chance they can win and get away with it, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good system to watch, because it’s not.”
Zirkzee was forced to leave midway through the game due to a suspected injury, but he returned to the starting lineup by scoring his second goal of the season with a deflected shot.
Wolves equalized just before the break with Ladislav Kreiz scoring from a corner kick, prompting boos from the Old Trafford faithful as the teams headed to the tunnel.
Despite taking the lead after the restart, United squandered their chance to climb into the top four as they were held to another frustrating draw at home.
Mark Chapman suggested Amorim was working on a psychological game in the lead-up to the game, although he was tight-lipped about his tactical approach in the pre-match briefing, before revealing his back three during the warm-up.
“I think Ruben Amorim is taking the microphone away from us a little bit because Manchester United have warmed up with a back three with Haven on the right, Martinez in the middle and Luke Shaw on the left. Check with Sky Sports to see if it’s a back three or a back four,” Chapman said.
