“A lack of knowhow on the pitch” - Wayne Rooney calls out ‘strange’ Ruben Amorim tactics amid Manchester United’s poor form in PL 

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney slammed Ruben Amorim's tactics after their defeat against Brentford in the Premier League on Sunday. He pointed out that the wingbacks failed to create enough pressure, leading to United getting outnumbered in midfield.

The Red Devils suffered their 16th Premier League defeat of the season, losing 4-3 against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium. Amorim featured a heavily rotated squad after their UEFA Europa League semi-final first leg 3-0 win over Athletic Club last Thursday. However, they failed to impress and looked disjointed on the pitch.

After the game, Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney slammed Amorim's tactics on Match of the Day 2. He said (via GOAL):

“It’s strange, because that’s why you play a back five with wingbacks. They have to put pressure on the ball or otherwise you get outnumbered in the midfield and the ball comes back into midfield. It was strange, but they had a lot of young players.

"There was a lack of movement and a lack of knowhow on the pitch. They’ve got a 17-year-old lad up front – the youngest ever to start up front for United – and they’re just launching balls up to him. I really felt for Obi today because you can tell he’s inexperienced but it looked like he had no help, they were just throwing balls up to him."

Manchester United took the lead through Mason Mount (14') against Brentford. However, Luke Shaw's own goal (27') restored parity before Kevin Scade (33', 70') and Yoane Wissa (74') made it 4-1 for the Bees. United got a couple more goals back through Alejandro Garnacho (82') and Amad Diallo (90+5').

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Wayne Rooney further highlights lack of cohesion at Manchester United

The Red Devils' all-time top scorer also spoke about different systems being played at different levels at the club. He pointed out that this leads to an incohesiveness, especially for players coming through the academy.

He said (via GOAL):

"I think the second team are playing a back four, which I found strange, because those players who are coming into the first team now with the under-23s or under-21s are playing a different system. For me, that’s a bit confusing. Getting to the Europa League final is papering over a lot of cracks for Manchester United and that needs solving quickly."

Ruben Amorim was appointed Manchester United's manager in October last year. He has been in charge of the club for 37 matches and has 15 wins, 14 defeats, and eight draws.