What problems still exist with Manchester United s defense, and why has Ugarte s condition deteriorated recently?

During this period, Ugarte struggled a bit and his performance was not as good as last season. This was mainly related to Amorim's tactical system.

Under his current player configuration, he has exposed some problems, both on the offensive and defensive ends.

Compared with his offensive choices, his defensive positioning choices are poor, which will gradually amplify in Premier League games and become the team's weak link.

Amorim will also be very cautious when using him, and will only send him when he is weak or needs to be rotated.

Like the Premier League match against Tottenham, Amorim chose the strategy of B fee + Casemiro.

B Fei is responsible for organizing the ball, and Casemiro is responsible for sweeping the ball beside him, which is a relatively balanced offensive and defensive combination.

The reason why B Fee is allowed to play is that Amorim actually wants to protect the ball in the backcourt, especially Luke Shaw and Dogu on the left. There must be a deep-lying organization center that can deliver the ball and relieve the team's pressure.

If the rhythm is stabilized and under control, the opponent will not have so many opportunities to counterattack, thus ensuring that the defense on the left side avoids loopholes.

In the game where Ugarte was present, I actually observed Manchester United's defensive position and what role he could play in the team.

In fact, Ugarte is a good player, not too bad. His assist defense, supplementary position and defensive effort are very good, which is quite good. I like his awareness of assist defense and willingness to defend.

He has this, and there is nothing to say about his defensive attitude. Once the opponent gets the ball, he will definitely grab it and put pressure on the opponent's offensive players.

In terms of offense, he also has a strong desire to penetrate forward and score goals. He often inserts himself into the opponent's penalty area to receive crosses from teammates.

Active defense, large coverage area, diligent running and willing to run; he also spares no effort and runs tirelessly when attacking. Such players are very popular with coaches. Amorim will also choose to play him in certain games to provide a barrier for the team's midfield and backcourt.

But this is the interesting thing about football. The role of a player still needs the support of the team.

I have talked about Manchester United's problems before, and have seriously discussed the deficiencies in the team's defensive midfielder that need to be improved. The team's biggest problem is that the position of the deep-lying playmaker and wing-back is still very weak and does not have the system support of Amorim 3421.

Even if the team achieved good results last month and Amorim also won the title of best coach, I still maintain this conclusion.

Letting B Fei play as a defensive midfielder to partner with Casemiro is not a "long-term solution" after all. This can only be done temporarily rather than as a long-term match in the future.

Why do you say this?

B Fecasemiro is too old, a veteran in his thirties, and is not suitable for playing like this for a long time in the highly competitive Premier League. Look at Chelsea's Caicedo and others. They are all young, dark and tough. Other teams' midfielders are getting younger. You are still resting on your laurels. This can only solve the problem of Manchester United's midfielder temporarily but not fundamentally.

It's okay to fight against a weak team, but it's not okay to encounter someone who can steal and fight harder than you.

Furthermore, these two players are still prone to injury. As the Premier League schedule progresses, it is not ruled out that injuries will occur in the future. If both players fall, who will be replaced? Ugarte or Menu may not completely solve the team's weak waist problem.

On the wing-back side, Dagu lacks experience and lacks awareness of physical confrontation and experience; Dalot is also diligent, but his ability is not yet at the top. If he really encounters opponents of the level of Arsenal and Manchester City, it will still be difficult to win.

For example, whether the wing back can be positioned immediately after being inserted, and whether teammates can keep up after assisting in defense, these all test the players' tacit understanding. Considering that this group of Manchester United players are not fully integrated, the problems exposed on the field will still be serious.

There is improvement, but there is no peace of mind. The team still needs to adjust.

For example, I took a screenshot of the ball in the picture above when I was watching the game. The result of this ball was offside, but if Tottenham could handle the ball more carefully, slow down a little and pass the ball to the teammate in the space on the left, then Manchester United's defense would have been penetrated by this ball.

There will still be big loopholes in defensive positioning and defensive protection between players.

This is not something that Ugarte can face as a substitute, but it requires the entire team of Manchester United to realize how to solve these problems.

More efforts are needed to focus on defense.

In the follow-up Amorim's defensive adjustments to Manchester United, the focus must be on the "waist". Let's continue to fine-tune the problems existing between the wing-backs and the defensive midfielders to see how to deal with them more appropriately. Ugarte also needs to be properly trained to help him recover as soon as possible.

The defensive problem is solved. Only when Mbemo, Cunha and others attack in the frontcourt can the team's performance be stable.