‘Confused’ Man Utd legend Rooney reveals ‘strange’ thing he noticed about Amorim’s tactics

Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney has found it “strange” to watch Ruben Amorim’s side play a different formation to the Under-21 side.

The Red Devils are having a terrible season with Amorim’s men currently 15th in the Premier League as they enter the final three matches of the campaign.

This current side are already guaranteed to go down as the worst Man Utd team to play in the Premier League era for the club, even if they win all three of their final games.

Man Utd are on the verge of reaching the Europa League final – but in the main Amorim has struggled to get the players to buy into his philosophy, style of play and tactics.

The Red Devils are 3-0 up on aggregate from the first leg in their Europa League semi-final against Athletic Bilbao with the second leg coming on Thursday at Old Trafford.

But Man Utd legend Rooney thinks potentially reaching the Europa League final would only be “papering over a lot of cracks” after a disappointing season on the whole.

Rooney said (via The Sun): “I feel like getting to the final is papering over a lot of cracks.

“There are big problems at Manchester United which need solving quickly.”

And Rooney is confused why the most senior youth team at Man Utd don’t play the same formation and tactics as Amorim’s side, which is common among other sides across the country.

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Rooney added: “The second team are playing with a back four, which I found strange.

“A lot of those players have come into the first team now but they’re getting their game time with the Under-23s or 21s yet they play a different system.

“For me, that’s a bit confusing. It’s strange as you play a back five, or a back three, to put pressure on the ball — otherwise it keeps coming back through the midfield.

“Brentford caused United a lot of problems from the wide areas — and United didn’t really have the intensity.”

Former Tottenham and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson thought the Red Devils’ win in Bilbao was “the best under Ruben Amorim”.

Robinson told the BBC: “They were excellent – granted they were playing against 10 men – but they still had to do a job. From that point Manchester United completely controlled the game.

“There’s no way a team of Manchester United’s stature should lose 15 games in a Premier League season. When things like that happen, criticism will come but there’s no way you can criticise them for the way they’ve played in this Europa League.

“They’re still the only team unbeaten in the Europa League. If only they played on a Thursday night every night.”