Gary Neville has issued a stark warning to Ruben Amorim about utilising Kobbie Mainoo as a false nine. Manchester United boss Amorim chose to play Mainoo centrally in place of forwards Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund - a decision Neville suspects was either an experiment or indicative of Amorim's lack of faith in his strikers. Despite some advantages of a false nine setup, Neville doesn't believe this is the answer to United's problems. He said: "When I saw Kobbie Mainoo up front yesterday, I thought [Bruno] Fernandes was going to play in that position or something. [Alejandro] Garnacho might play up front and Fernandes to the right.

"When I saw Kobbie Mainoo as a centre forward or dropping in, I thought, 'It's okay that. You'll get control of the game'. A little bit of what I've talked about here, you can get decent football and it can con you. It can kid you this decent football, where you're watching nice passes outside of the box and up to the final third. "It's about putting the ball in the back of the net. It's about getting bodies in the box, it's about getting bodies across defenders and making sure that you're really creating chances. And that's not going to happen that much. Everything has to be perfect with Kobbie Mainoo up front, and Garnacho and Amad.

"You've got three quite lightweight players, really talented, good players. But everything has to be absolutely perfect, and I'm just thinking about it from a Crystal Palace point of view if I'm a defender. I'm thinking, 'I fancy this, I can out-muscle these'. They're sharp but they're not rapid quick. "There's no real goal scorers there amongst them, I know they can chip in. And I'm thinking, 'We've got a chance here'. So I'm seeing that team sheet and I'm thinking, 'We've got a chance.'" However, Neville also conceded that introducing Zirkzee or Hojlund might have posed a more formidable challenge for Palace's defence due to their physicality.

He added: "Now, I'm not saying that if they seen Hojlund up front, all of a sudden they'll be starting to panic, but they'll be thinking, 'At least they've got a physical presence, they've got a battle'. Zirkzee's a big lad. They're brilliant these players. I just felt that when I saw that team yesterday, I thought if I was Crystal Palace I'd be fancying it. "And I was speaking to Lee Dixon in the truck watching it and I'd be like, 'I'd be surprised if Crystal Palace don't score a couple of goals, and I can't see how United are going to score. Where's it going to come from?'." He also highlighted the need for changes at United, questioning previous selections involving Christian Eriksen and Casemiro.

Neville continued: "You know, the Casemiro and [Christian] Eriksen one the other week...Zirkzee after 30 minutes and he had to change that midfield. He brought Mainoo on. There's sometimes when you see a team, it doesn't look right. If it doesn't look right, it quite often isn't right and it doesn't surprise you.". Erik ten Hag's high-profile summer signing Zirkzee, who joined Old Trafford for £35.8million from Bologna, has yet to shine under new manager Amorim, scoring just three goals in 24 Premier League games. In contrast, Hojlund's record is even less impressive, with just two goals in 19 league matches for United this term.

The Red Devils' recent 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace has left them languishing in 13th place in the Premier League, managing only eight victories from 24 games. Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.