Did Manchester United’s change of formation work? What the numbers say…

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim finally altered his tactics last night, putting his team out in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Newcastle.

The Red Devils boss has been strongly wedded to his preferred 3-4-3 system since arriving at Old Trafford, with the use of three centre-backs and wing-backs working well for him at former club Sporting Lisbon.

At times, however, Amorim has faced critics for sticking so rigidly to a formation that hasn’t necessarily looked that well suited to the players in his United squad.

So, how did United get on with a move to a back four against Newcastle last night?

Manchester United won the game, but it wasn’t plain sailing

It’s fair to say that Man Utd didn’t look that convincing in the new system, even if a fine strike by Patrick Dorgu gave them a 1-0 victory in a game they lost last season.

While some MUFC fans will just be happy with the three points, some will perhaps note that Newcastle totally dominated possession and had more shots in the game.

On a more positive note, though, Newcastle didn’t create anything of any real quality, as shown by the fact that they couldn’t convert their superior shot count into shots on target.

Both teams were also level on xG, with 1.2 each, as per data from FBref.

It might not have been pretty, but it did result in just United’s second clean sheet of the season, so it’s not to be sniffed at, particularly with WhoScored‘s stats also giving all of the back four some high scores.

Manchester United missed Bruno Fernandes

Even if the formation is important, arguably a bigger deal for United is that they were without the injured Bruno Fernandes for this game.

The Portuguese midfield maestro is a hugely important player for Amorim’s side, contributing goals, assists, and quality on the ball.

It’s little wonder that their record when he doesn’t play is usually really poor, as per Opta…

2022 – Man Utd won a Premier League game in which Bruno Fernandes did not feature for the first time since a 3-2 win over Spurs in March 2022 under Ralf Rangnick. The Red Devils had lost five of their last six league games without the midfielder before today (D1). Independence. pic.twitter.com/LDqzaFSGLI

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 26, 2025

All in all, it’s perhaps hard to draw too many conclusions from one game, but there are probably arguments both for and against using this formation again.

In terms of possession, it was the lowest amount that United recorded all season, but we’ve also seen games in which they’ve had more of the ball and failed to win, so perhaps this change of approach can make them more solid.

While Fernandes is out of action, that might be the most realistic and pragmatic approach to getting results, and Amorim is not a manager who can afford to be too picky about how he picks up points.

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