Gary Neville has criticised Ruben Amorim’s tactical approach after Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Wolves. The former United defender, speaking on Sky Sports, expressed confusion over the manager’s decision to revert to a 3-4-3 formation following the positive results from a recent tactical tweak.
Amorim had switched to a 4-2-3-1 system for the Boxing Day win over Newcastle, but against the league’s bottom club, he returned to his preferred back three. Patrick Dorgu moved to left-back, Diogo Dalot operated as a right wing-back, Joshua Zirkzee started on the right side of midfield, and Ayden Heaven played as the right-sided centre-back.
Neville pointed to specific positional issues, saying: “Zirkzee on this right side having to chase back to right back almost, Dalot right wing back, Ayden Heaven right centre back, Dorgu over on the left back where he's not been playing well. All of it just isn't as good as it was in the last couple of games.” He added that the performance was “not right” and that fans were likely sharing his frustration.
United took the lead through a deflected Zirkzee effort, his second goal of the season, but Wolves equalised before half-time when Ladislav Krejčí converted from a corner. The home side dominated possession in the second half but could not find a winner, leading to boos from the Old Trafford crowd at full-time.
The result means United have dropped points against Everton, Bournemouth, West Ham and Wolves since the end of November. Amorim’s pre-match silence on his formation, followed by a warm-up in a back three, led Sky Sports host Mark Chapman to accuse the manager of “taking the mick out of us”.
