United fans will know that now is not the time to get too carried away. They were exceptional on Saturday, producing their best performance in recent memory to further derail Manchester City’s flailing title bid.
But United have had more false dawns than I can remember. Look at the way supporters embraced Ten Hag after that FA Cup triumph. Or cast your mind back to Ole’s tenure and that victory in Paris. Having said all that, few would have expected Michael Carrick’s side to dismantle City so thoroughly. I just want to have a look at the key factors that paved the way for success.
The return of Mbeumo and Diallo
I think that Amorim’s harshest critics would have to concede that AFCON did a real number on him. Look, I’m not saying that Amorim’s stubborn philosophical beliefs weren’t still an issue (he had been there for 14 months). But Mbeumo and Diallo left when United were in a state of ascendancy. Carrick benefitted from that returning combination, which eviscerated Nathan Ake down that right-hand side.
Benching Sesko a stroke of genius
I think there were more than a few eyebrows raised Benjamin Sesko was left on the bench on Saturday. The Slovenian has been in decent goal-scoring form and Carrick could have looked to exploit that. But Carrick recognized that the one guaranteed way to get at City was with speed on the counterattack. Sesko would have likely demanded too many touches on the ball and slowed up play.
Abandoning the cursed 3-4-3 formation
United fans the world over must have breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw Carrick had opted for a back four on Saturday. Amorim’s pig-headed insistence on playing a 3-4-3 had begun to take on cultish dimensions. It just never worked with this set of players, and the midfield was consistently run ragged. Carrick took the commonsense approach, reverting to a 4-2-3-1, with Mainoo and Casemiro protecting a compact back four. It was risky in the sense that Maguire has never looked particularly comfortable in a back four. But in totality, the system works much better for this current United squad.
The reintegration of Mainoo
Remember Kobbie Mainoo? The young midfielder was once the darling of the Stretford End, bursting onto the scene to become one of the most highly coveted young midfielders in English football (he even won Man of the Match in the FA Cup Final). Amorim isolated the young midfielder, essentially freezing him out of the stating lineup. Amorim seemed to prefer Ugarte’s high-octane pressing more than Mainoo’s silky skills on the ball (yet another instance of Amorim’s shortsightedness). The rift reportedly led to a bust-up at Carrington, resulting in Mainoo seeking a loan move elsewhere. Carrick immediately turned to Kobbie this weekend, recognizing that his composure on the ball was necessary in the helter-skelter midfield battle. He dovetailed beautifully with Casemiro (who did plenty of the unsung dirty work).
The liberation of Patrick Dorgu
In his brief time at Manchester United, Patrick Dorgu has looked at his best when he’s had the least amount of defensive responsibility. Whether it’s playing at fullback on in a more attacking wingback role, Dorgu struggles with dual defensive and attacking mandates. Carrick realized this and opted to play the young Dane on the left-wing. It proved an inspirational decision, with Dorgu’s pace and directness a key component of United’s kinetic counterattacking performance. Interestingly, Amorim had experimented with Dorgu on the wing to great effect in their 1-0 win over Newcastle. But Amorim- blinded by his 3-4-3 fetish- immediately moved him back into the wingback role in the very next game. Insanity.
