Manchester United secured one of their best results of the season on Thursday, when they beat Real Sociedad 4-1 at Old Trafford to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
It was an encouraging sign after a difficult start to life with the Red Devils for Ruben Amorim, with the club still sat firmly in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Going into this weekend, Manchester United had only the joint 10th best defence in the league this season, conceding 40 goals in 28 games.
Manchester United legend gives his thoughts
Gary Pallister was one of the club’s centre-backs when they won their first league title in 26 years in 1993, claiming three more Premier League medals before departing in his early 30s.
Now 59, he continues to watch Manchester United closely and believes that they do have the central defenders they need to start winning consistently and climb the league table, as they adapt to Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation.
“They’ve got international players there across the board,” he tells FFT. “Harry Maguire has been a stalwart for England for a long time, Matthijs de Ligt has been there for Holland for a long time.
“You’ve got Leny Yoro coming through, and Lisandro Martinez is a seasoned international for Argentina, so they’ve got good players there, it’s adapting to the system.
“I think the biggest problem has been legs in midfield. That’s heaped pressure on the back three, because we haven’t had the legs to cover the ground properly in there at times.”
From experience, Pallister knows how much more challenging it can be for a centre-back, without adequate protection from midfield.
“It makes it difficult, because if you’ve got people pressing the ball, their midfield is hurried into passing the ball, so you can read the game a bit easier and try to nick the ball in front of people,” he says, speaking in association with Spaceport Sweden.
“There’s pressure on the ball and they haven’t got options. If you give them time and space, they can choose many options and it makes it more difficult for you as a centre-back, so I’ve felt for them in that respect.
“But don’t get me wrong, we still haven’t looked water-tight in this system. This is a work in progress, as the manager has said many times, and he’s going to stick with it until he gets it right.”
Promising new faces
Ayden Heaven started for Manchester United in the win over Real Sociedad, and Pallister believes both the 18-year-old and French teenager Yoro look promising.
“They’ve got the young kid they brought in from Arsenal, Heaven, who’s come with a big reputation,” he says.
“Yoro came with a big reputation and is finding his feet in the Premier League, he looked as though he was settling down really well.
“He went off with an injury on Sunday, which was a bit of a shame because he seems to be picking up knocks here, there and everywhere.
“But he’s got the physique, the power and the pace to be successful in the Premier League. Fingers crossed everything can fall into place.”
