Manchester United legend, Gary Neville, has revealed that manager Jose Mourinho will have to adopt 3-5-3 formation used by former Chelsea boss, Antonio Conte against Tottenham.
Manchester United’s next game will be against Tottenham on Monday night (8pm).
Mourinho’s defensive line put up a lacklustre display in the defeat to Brighton on Sunday manager.
Mourinho opted for a 4-3-3 formation for the game that saw Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof as his centre-back pairing.
Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia made up the back four for that defeat as Neville feels the quartet did not do enough to convince Mourinho that he should stick with that formation for Tottenham’s visit.
“I think we should offer balance. It is the second game of the season and it wasn’t all just about the defence,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“I thought Manchester United were poor going forward as well.
“They were static, they were poor passing through midfield and there were a series of single passes rather than combinations. When you are trying to chase a game, sustaining attacks and pressure-building is critical.
“There were times during my Manchester United career when we had back fours that conceded goals and we didn’t win leagues for two or three years at a time.
“I was part of those back fours and it wasn’t good enough. It eroded the confidence of everyone else in front because they thought every time there was an attack against us we’d concede a goal.
“I think it will force Manchester United and Jose Mourinho to go three at the back. I think, with the centre-backs he’s got, he will resort to that.
“When I look at the centre-back partnerships that he had at Chelsea, they had power and strength in his teams. He hasn’t got that here yet.”
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