Ralf Rangnick hinted that he may have found his best formation at Manchester United, just 24 hours before they dramatically beat West Ham United at Old Trafford.
The German boss has deployed the Red Devils in a 4-2-2-2 formation since he replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but tweaked his set-up to a 4-3-3 during their recent 3-1 victory against Brentford.
However, there were elements of his aforementioned tactical change during their clash against West Ham, which saw Marcus Rashford tap in a 93 rd minute winner to secure a 1-0 victory against David Moyes’ side.
Despite the often unconvincing and labouring performances, United jumped into the top four for the first time since Rangnick took over the side.
And the former RB Leipzig boss believes he has come closer to finding the right balance at United.
HAVE YOUR SAY! What do you think Ralf Rangnick's best Manchester United line-up is? Comment below
"The only thing we did in the end was turn that triangle in midfield around and put it upside down,” Rangnick said in his press conference before the clash against West Ham.
“Instead of playing with two holding No.6s and one No.10, we are now playing with one holding no.6 with Scotty [McTominay], and two No.8s.”
McTominay once again garnered praise for his combating performance at the heart of United’s midfield.
The Scottish international has often been the brunt of criticism from United fans, but very few could question his recent displays for the Reds.
McTominay has mainly featured alongside the also often derided Fred in a central defensive midfield partnership.
Their deployment together, which has been coined as ‘McFred’ by the Red Devils’ fan-base, has been a consistency in United’s line-ups since Solskjaer’s reign at the club.
However, this apparent change of formation has almost broken up McTominay and Fred, and instead partnered the Brazilian with Bruno Fernandes.
In comparison to the exceptionally high standards he has set since he arrived at the club in January 2020, the Portuguese maestro has been rather anonymous this season.
Many have attributed Fernandes plateauing to the fact that he has had to adapt his game to accommodate his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fernandes scored an incredible hattrick in United’s 5-1 victory against Leeds United at the start of the season but he has only since found the net on four more occasions in the Premier League.
However, Rangnick was quick to praise Fernandes, who seems to be coming back into form having scored two goals and contributed two goals in his last three matches for the club.
"We’ve all seen in the last two games, how good and how important Bruno [Fernandes] can be in possession of the ball and also defensively; he’s always working hard,” Rangnick said before his side’s late victory against West Ham United.
“He ran more than 12km per game, with the highest distance in the whole game."
"In the first instance for Mason [Greenwood] and then, before the third goal, when he played the ball to Marcus [Rashford].
“I think for both players, this gives them, how shall I say, more opportunity and more freedom to play that kind of football where they’re good at – both offensively and defensively.
"Fred is also a player who is probably one of our best ball-winners."
