Danny Murphy: Manchester United’s issues are down to personnel, not formation

Former England midfielder Danny Murphy told BBC Sport that Manchester United’s recurring defensive lapses are the result of personnel decisions rather than Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system, after United’s 3-0 defeat by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Murphy said United have shown tactical improvement under Amorim, becoming more compact and reducing the distances between defensive and midfield lines, but that a string of individual errors and players being asked to operate out of position have undone those gains. He pointed to Phil Foden’s opening goal as an example of a player getting beyond Bruno Fernandes after Fernandes, deployed deeper in midfield, failed to spot the run.

In Murphy’s assessment, United were defensively compact for much of the first half at the Etihad and even won possession high up the pitch on several occasions, but sloppy moments cost them. He said Fernandes, when used as a deeper central midfielder, can provide excellent passing and technical quality, yet struggles with defensive instincts such as tracking runners — an issue Murphy said also contributed to Fulham’s equaliser at Craven Cottage earlier in the season.

Murphy argued that the problem is not the 3-4-2-1 shape itself, which has delivered better structure than United showed last season, but the deployment of players whose natural attributes do not suit the specific tasks required in that set-up. He cited the handling of Luke Shaw as another example, saying Shaw has spent the majority of his career as a dynamic left-back and is being asked to function as part of a back three in a more central role.

The City opener arrived after a run from Foden took him behind United’s midfield and defence; Murphy described it as a “simple run” that should have been tracked. He said that sequence of events was symptomatic of how isolated lapses can cascade into goals: when one player follows the ball or vacates a zone, others are forced into covering actions that create further openings.

Murphy also pointed to the second City goal as the product of several individual mistakes rather than a systemic collapse. He noted that Manuel Ugarte followed the ball and lost track of Foden, Noussair Mazraoui was unable to prevent a pass around the corner, Leny Yoro was outmuscled by Jeremy Doku, and Shaw did not have the pace or strength to stop Erling Haaland. "Most goals are down to a mistake somewhere," Murphy said, "but when players are comfortable in the system and in the right positions the errors do not stack up like that."

United have played four Premier League matches so far this season. Murphy acknowledged the start has not been disastrous: United beat Burnley, came close to overcoming Arsenal and created chances against Fulham, but have been exposed in matches where errors have been punished. He warned that continuing to play the same personnel in the same roles, including using Fernandes regularly in a deeper midfield position he has not long occupied, risks repeating the same problems.

Amorim has shown no sign of changing his formation despite criticism, and Murphy said the onus is on the manager to select players who are better suited to the tasks the system demands. "A player of [Fernandes's] intelligence should be able to learn to switch on a bit more in defensive situations," Murphy said, "but it’s down to the manager to recognise who does those jobs better." Murphy was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

The assessment frames United’s dilemma as one of personnel and role suitability at a club undergoing tactical transition: improvements in compactness and structure have been offset by recurring individual errors and positional mismatches. If those selection patterns persist, Murphy suggested the same vulnerabilities exposed in high-profile defeats could remain a recurring problem for United as the season continues.