Burnley Vs Manchester United [2–2] – Premier League 2025/2026: The First Steps Of The Post-Rúben Amorim Era – Tactical Analysis

Burnley hosted Manchester United in Gameweek 21 of the 2025/2026 Premier League season, and the match ended with an entertaining 2-2 draw that does not serve the Red Devils that much.

Manchester United’s sudden change of head coach and appointment of Darren Fletcher as an interim coach suggests that a lot of things are changing or will be changed during the coming games from a tactical perspective.

One of the striking changes of Fletcher was getting back to a back-four formation following Rúben Amorim’s use of the 3-4-3 formation for a long period.

For now, Manchester United are moving away from where they want to be in the league, but at the same time, they are only three points behind fourth.

Therefore, the season is not yet a complete failure, and the club needs to make the right decisions to keep the team in the race for that space and avoid unnecessary confusion for the players, which could lead to further points lost.

In this tactical analysis, the aim will be to examine Fletcher’s tactical changes and choices, identify which changes should be adopted in the future, and explain how Manchester United can build on this new start to become a more powerful team than in the previous period.

Burnley Vs Manchester United Lineups & Formations

Scott Parker preferred to start the match in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Martin Dúbravka as goalkeeper and a defensive line of Josh Laurent, Maxime Estève, and Bashir Humphreys as centre-backs.

The midfield was composed of Lesley Ugochukwu and Florentino Luís as central midfielders, with Kyle Walker and Lucas Pires as wing-backs.

In attack, Hannibal Mejbri and Marcus Edwards were the two wingers and sometimes advanced playmakers, with Armando Broja as the main striker.

On the other hand, Fletcher started the match in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Senne Lammens as the goalkeeper and a defensive line of Lisandro Martínez, Ayden Heaven as centre-backs, Luke Shaw as left-back, and Diogo Dalot as right-back.

The midfield featured Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro as central midfielders, with Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha as wingers, Bruno Fernandes as the advanced playmaker, and Benjamin Šeško as the team’s striker.

Manchester United Potential Tactical Changes For A Better Future

Fletcher made the wise choice of putting players in their natural positions, such as using Dorgu on the left wing and Cunha on the right wing, with Fernandes being the advanced playmaker behind Šeško.

This clearly helped Manchester United attack with clearer ideas and smoother ball progression, as it has enabled them to find different solutions, whether from the wings or the middle.

In fact, using Fernandes as an advanced playmaker and liberating him from the various defensive roles was rewarding, as we saw him produce some excellent key passes into space and behind Burnley’s defensive lines.

This was not the case in recent months because Fernandes used to play much deeper, which limited his key passes and prevented him from providing the necessary attacking support in the final third on a regular basis.

During this match, however, playing in an already advanced position was very helpful for him, as it allowed him to focus more on playing key passes to Šeško and on linking midfield to attack, which is what he does best.

In other words, Fletcher’s use of the players in their natural positions unlocked a different attacking performance from them.

For instance, Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation does not rely on an advanced playmaker, which is why Fernandes was used as a central midfielder with mixed duties for most of Amorim’s spell.

With Fernandes used in his natural position, he was capable of linking the team’s defensive and attacking lines perfectly.

His impact on the game and on his team’s attacking performance was excellent.

Manchester United Bruno Fernandes Key Passing

The best example of this was his contribution to Manchester United’s first goal.

During this action, he was the one moving without the ball horizontally to follow the action and provide a forward passing option until succeeding in freeing some space upfront.

And when he got the ball in a suitable position, he quickly decided to serve Šeško in space.

Fernandes provided Šeško with an outstanding through pass that eliminated Burnley’s defenders and allowed the striker to be in a perfect goalscoring situation.

In fact, it would be fundamental for Manchester United to take Fletcher’s changes into account and try to implement them when the new head coach arrives, as many of the changes Fletcher made were effective.

Using a creative player like Fernandes in his natural position can add a lot to Manchester United’s attacking performances, given that he proved in this match that he can be much more useful and dangerous than when being used as a central midfielder.

In fact, Fernandes provided the highest number of through passes since January 2025 in this match, and he also served his teammates inside the box nine times with dangerous passes towards the penalty box, a number that he had not achieved in 16 matches.

These numbers confirm that using Fernandes in a more advanced position can improve the team’s attacking performance.

Furthermore, using a more suitable central midfielder with greater physical strength, defensive work rate, and stamina can make Manchester United more balanced than when Fernandes plays there.

Manchester United Benjamin Šeško Link With Midfield

One of Manchester United’s most problematic issues was the integration of Šeško and his inability to perform as expected, especially in terms of goalscoring.

And even though he is responsible for not scoring many goals so far, the coaching staff and Šeško’s attacking/midfield teammates are also relatively responsible for this.

In this match against Burnley, we saw Šeško being more dangerous than in most of the games he played under the management of Amorim, and that’s mainly because he was served properly on more than one occasion.

The following picture highlights his building chemistry with Fernandes and confirms the chemistry that was noticed during the first goal action between the two players.

The fact that Šeško was capable of scoring a brace for the first time ever with Manchester United was not a coincidence, as it was the first time he received many key passes/crosses and moved well without the ball to meet those passes.

Building on Šeško’s well-timed movements without the ball and, more importantly, on the chemistry created between him and Fernandes is something that needs to be done in the coming games under the management of the new head coach.

Encouraging such passing combinations can make Manchester United much more dangerous in attack and give them more than one solution to punish high defensive lines.

This action could have been scored as well if the goalkeeper had not been attentive enough to save Šeško’s excellent header.

The match made us discover the attacking talent of Šeško as if he were playing his first game with Manchester United, as he has been good enough with his movements without the ball and has created more than one goal-scoring opportunity, apart from the two goals he scored.

Manchester United Needed Work With Benjamin Šeško

This was the first match against Manchester United in which Šeško was able to shoot seven times, all on target, with a 100% accuracy rate.

This means that Šeško was dangerous throughout the match, and Manchester United needs to have their main striker in this form in each game, as that was one of the things that was lacking from the team during Amorim’s spell: a proper main striker capable of making the difference in each game.

The usage of Cunha out of position as a false nine and the inability to exploit the potential of a promising striker like Šeško were among the reasons why Amorim’s side failed to reach their full potential this season.

Some very good attacking signs were noticed in the game against Burnley, however, and that’s what the next manager will need to focus on improving.

That said, Šeško can still be more useful in terms of finishing, as he often lacks confidence and initiative in certain situations, preferring the simpler solution.

The following action shows him getting the ball in a dangerous area and being in a 1-v-1 situation with Burnley’s defender.

However, he chose to simply give the ball away to the goalkeeper with a rushed shot that highlights his intention to avoid cutting inside or dribbling past his direct opponent in any way.

Helping the team’s main striker gain more confidence and encouraging him to become more involved in offensive duels by dribbling and passing more often can eventually lead to making Šeško much more useful and decisive from an attacking perspective.

Šeško could have scored with ease if he had attempted to cut inside successfully or if he had surpassed his direct opponent with an external or internal body feint to mislead him, then closed in on the goal and finished.

Manchester United Use Of Dorgu As A Left Winger: An Early Crossing Weapon

Dorgu proved in this match that he can be a solid solution at left wing, thanks to his pace, dribbling, disciplined high pressing, and effective role in attacking transitions.

We saw Dorgu consistently present and ready to launch counterattacks whenever the team made recoveries inside Burnley’s half or Manchester United’s half.

Moreover, he was very useful with key passes, especially to Šeško, confirming once again that training extensively on serving Šeško by various players and from different situations, while ensuring the needed chemistry between him and his teammates, can only lead to more goalscoring chances.

Although Šeško can still work on his finishing, as he missed some of Dorgu’s gifts, the second goal action highlights both players’ attacking quality.

It shows that Dorgu is a player who can be extremely dangerous with early cross, and that should be considered in the future.

It is something that a striker like Šeško likes to receive and showed during this goal action that he deals well with.

Early crosses can become a very powerful goalscoring tool for Manchester United as they have got very close to scoring two early crosses to Šeško; one from Fernandes and one from Casemiro.

And in the end, Šeško was anticipatory enough and accurate enough with his header to exploit Dorgu’s early cross in the best possible way.

Therefore, early crosses should be considered a useful attacking weapon for the team going forward, with Šeško’s presence in the box being the necessary condition for their success.

Conclusion

The new version of Manchester United is evolving, and the team showed some very positive signs in this match, especially from the attacking and playmaking perspectives.

However, a lot of work is still needed on the defensive side, as the team continues to concede goals easily despite the change in the back-line.

This means that intensified defensive training is still needed to improve defensive performance and reduce individual and collective marking mistakes, as well as ball losses in the team’s own half.