What Ruben Amorim got wrong in his first Manchester United game - and the Bayern Munich star he could sign

The Ruben Amorim era at Manchester United began over the weekend at Ipswich. The Red Devils, with their deservedly hyped new manager, were expected to dominate the East Anglian side. However, they ended up with crushed expectations for their new coach this season.

Ahead of his Premier League debut, fans anticipated a swift change in the team’s style of play. The Portuguese manager set up his side in his preferred 3-4-3 formation, but the deploying of some players in unfamiliar positions ultimately led to a passive team performance.

Among the full-backs at Manchester United, Diogo Dalot is the more conservative option, while Noussair Mazraoui is the more pacey player capable of running up and down the flanks. Yet, Amorim chose to deploy the pacey full-back as one of the three centre-backs, leaving the tall, conservative Dalot as a wing-back. Dalot offered little in attack, and his position as the left wingback stifled the left flank.

His presence in the game seemed redundant, especially when the team was searching for a winner against a relegation-threatened side.

Another unusual decision was made on the right flank, where Amorim played Amad Diallo as a right wing-back. The Ivorian is not a pace-and-power player suited to covering both defensive and attacking duties. He is a pure attacker who relies on flair and tricks, needing to be positioned higher up the field to create and threaten the opposition's box. Despite being forced into defensive duties, Diallo was the liveliest attacker for Manchester United throughout the game. He regularly tested the Ipswich defense with take-ons and crosses whenever he found himself near the box.

Given how the game unfolded, Amorim will likely reconsider his tactical setup for the next match. It would be a surprise if he doesn't drop Alejandro Garnacho from the attack to make room for Diallo and Bruno Fernandes to play as inverted forwards behind the center forward.

Should Amorim move Diallo forward, the right wing-back spot should go to Mazraoui, with the energetic Garnacho dropping to left wing-back to replace Dalot, who is better suited as one of the three centre-backs in a 3-4-3 formation. Unless Amorim wants to be overly defensive, Dalot has no place as a wingback.

Manchester United's rumored interest in players like Alphonso Davies and Theo Hernandez for the left wing-back spot suggests that Amorim intends to have an attack-minded player in that role. Given this, the Dalot experiment against a lowly Ipswich side was all the more surprising.