Ruben Amorim wins the 3-4-2-1 battle with Palace but his system remains flawed | OneFootball

Perhaps for the first time in his Manchester United tenure, a 3-4-2-1 worked well for Ruben Amorim. Not his own specifically; more the fact that Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner also chooses to deploy that system.

While Amorim’s iteration has been the subject of plenty of debate, Glasner’s has often been praised, but it was the Portuguese who came out as the victor this time around as United secured a 2-1 win over the Eagles courtesy of goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount.

Amorim came into the game under plenty of scrutiny after sticking to his formation in the dismal loss to Everton despite the Toffees having 10 men, while Glasner enjoys full backing at Palace after delivering the first trophy in the club’s history with the FA Cup win last year.

But while any formation and all tactics can have merits at different times, this match was not an advert for the merits of a 3-4-2-1.

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Plenty has been made of the contrasting styles and fortunes of Glasner and Amorim (Action Images via Reuters)

The visitors almost got off to a dream start when a long throw caused problems in the Palace box, with a brilliant save from Dean Henderson denying Casemiro from point-blank range.

However, from there United offered precious little, again relying – as is often the case these days – on a lucky break, a counter or a set-piece to create anything in attack.

At the same time, Palace were quick to create their own opportunities, the home crowd gaining plenty of encouragement as Jean-Philippe Mateta found the side-netting before dragging an effort wide a few minutes later, the Frenchman having gone clean through after a fortunate ricochet off Leny Yoro.

Mateta knew he should have opened the scoring but he didn’t need to wait long to do so anyway, winning a penalty and converting it not once but twice after a VAR review showed he touched the ball twice on the first effort.

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Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring after spurning a couple of good openings for the hosts (Getty Images)

It was no less than Palace deserved and Selhurst Park was buoyant at half-time, the fans clearly believing they could earn yet another home win against United.

However, the game was turned on its head within the first 20 minutes of the second half, with two clever free-kick routines bearing fruit for the visitors.

The assists for both came from Bruno Fernandes. The first saw a clipped ball into the path of Zirkzee, who took it down before lashing a brilliant half-volley in for the equaliser, before the Portuguese laid off a clever pass for Mount to rifle in the winner low at Henderson’s near post.

The goals told the story of a frantic, frenetic match in which neither side was fully able to take control, with both unable to settle in midfield while being vulnerable to counters throughout.

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Joshua Zirkzee's brilliant equaliser gave United an unlikely lifeline in the second half (Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)

Glasner’s 3-4-2-1 worked well for Amorim because facing the same system allowed the Portuguese to hide the deficiencies in his own, with the lack of control for either side in midfield meaning no team was able to dominate, even if Palace had the better chances in the first half and United did in the second.

The switch in game-state – coupled with the fact that all three goals came from set-pieces, with some of the most notable chances also coming from lucky breaks and loose balls – illustrates the weaknesses of the respective systems, ones which can make it difficult to control midfield and create sustained pressure, with strikers isolated at one end and defenders occasionally having too much to do at the other.

While Mateta was impressive, it is notable how often he is tasked with holding up play while isolated, while at times, Zirkzee’s performance conjured up memories of Rasmus Hojlund, with the Dutchman a passenger in the first half, too isolated and failing to hold it up or progress play on a number of occasions (before an admittedly brilliant equaliser, after which he noticeably improved).

In defence, United struggled with Palace’s sweeping counters in the first half, a last-ditch challenge from Luke Shaw required to prevent it going 2-0, while Palace were unable to regain control once they found themselves 2-1 down.

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Mason Mount scored the eventual winner from a well-worked free-kick routine (Getty Images)

In the centre of the park, both midfields looked completely overrun at times when out of possession, while there were often too few options ahead of them when they had the ball.

And United’s problems continue at wing-back too, with Diogo Dalot offering precious little in attack and Amad presently wasted there despite being the best option in the position.

It may have led to an intriguing spectacle for the neutral but it was somewhat unimpressive in terms of quality, with the match hinging on individual moments from set-pieces rather than high-quality attacking from either side.

It matters little at this point for Glasner, the Austrian undoubtedly over-performing with this squad and himself highlighting squad depth issues in his post-match conference, with the difference in Palace’s play when Adam Wharton came off for Will Hughes a notable issue.

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Despite their recent performances, the win took United up to seventh in the Premier League table (Getty Images)

But it remains a pertinent issue for Amorim, who secured just his 13th Premier League victory after just over a year in charge.

He recently stated that United will go into the transfer market looking for new options at wing-back, and he might well have seen the archetype this afternoon in Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell, the duo both looking equally as comfortable in defence as they did dangerous in attack.

Elsewhere, Palace midfielder Wharton is a rumoured transfer target for the Red Devils and at times it feels as though the Eagles’ 3-4-2-1 works better than United’s simply because of him, with the visitors not possessing a player with his willingness and ability to pick the ball up in tight spaces and advance play.

Whether Amorim will get the time needed to develop a successful, free-flowing version of the 3-4-2-1 that brings success remains to be seen, but he will need some major signings if he is to do so.

One thing is for sure in that the Portuguese certainly won’t deviate from his chosen system – based on the evidence of today, that could be bad news for his long-term future.