Manchester Evening News

Romero states the case for stronger defence

- By RICHARD FAY

SERGIO Romero believes United are more ‘solid and stable’ thanks to their recent formation switch under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Reds started the season playing in their usual 4-2-3-1, but have switched to a three-man defence in recent weeks in order to deal with their tough opponents.

The change to a 3-5-2 has seen

United draw with Liverpool at home, while also inspiring them to crucial wins at both Partizan and Chelsea.

The Reds reverted to a more attacking set-up for their victory against Norwich last weekend, but Romero has praised the more defensive approach and explained why it has worked so well.

“When you play with a four, you know that one of the two full-backs will get forward while the other tries to sit a little more,” said the keeper. “But I reckon that when we play with three at the back, our team is much more stable and solid.

“That’s down to the fact that we are playing with three central defenders who are not going to get forward and join the attack too much, but who do have the necessary ability to be able get forward if needed.

“They can play with the ball at their feet and they can also play without the ball, by pressing a little higher up the field because they can easily push out when not in possession of the ball, in the knowledge that they have one extra central defender.

“As goalkeeper­s, we are used to all this and we know that we can just as easily play with a four as we can with a three at the back. There’s no problem at all in that. Our role at the back is to always help out our defence by making sure everyone is in the right place.”

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