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Manchester United ‘carrying three players with Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in same team’, says Danny Murphy who urges Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to follow Thomas Tuchel’s ruthless style at Chelsea
Manchester United are struggling because Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is trying to shoehorn Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in one team.
That's according to talkSPORT pundit Danny Murphy, who claims the Red Devils are essentially 'carrying three players' at the moment, with Solskjaer told to take a leaf out of ruthless Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel's book.
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Solskjaer is feeling the heat again in the Old Trafford hotseat after his United side suffered a 4-2 defeat to 11th place Leicester City at the weekend.
It was the Red Devils' fourth defeat in seven games and has reignited the debate surrounding the Norwegian's role.
United currently sit sixth in the Premier League table, five points adrift of leaders Chelsea, and many are already counting Solskjaer's side out of the title race with just eight games played.
And Murphy has told talkSPORT exactly why he thinks Solskjaer is struggling to get results out of his players.
"I said this a year ago - Pogba and Fernandes in the same team doesn't work, unless you've got eight others who are workaholics," the former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder told White and Jordan.
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"You throw Ronaldo in the mix, in effect you're carrying three, aren't you.
"It's fine to carry three attacking players if the rest of them know what they're doing behind them."
What's the answer? Murphy believes Solskjaer should take note of how his rivals managers operate, and should follow the ruthless example set by Chelsea boss Tuchel.
The pundit added: "What's the answer? Work, and repercussions of performance. If you don't have the repercussions of performance, you wont get the work in.
"If you look at Tuchel over the last three weeks, he's not just not changed personnel and gone: 'You fix it'.
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"He's actually gone to a five in midfield, with three central midfielders who are all defensive and the two wing-backs, and then played two strikers - he's only got two attacking players on the pitch.
"And look at his bench, he doesn't care who he upsets!"
Tuchel's new formation managed to see off a 1-0 victory against high flying Brentford at the weekend - so being a cut throat coach is clearly the way forward.
Solskjaer has been criticised for being too forgiving when it comes to picking playerswho haven't been pulling their weight of late on the field or lacking good form.
Against Leicester club captain Harry Maguire was selected despite only just returning from injury, and the rusty centre-back was at fault for Youri Tielemans' momentum-shifting goal.
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Despite Solskjaer defending this decision, telling reporters after the loss that Maguire is 'a massive player for us', Murphy says the United boss needs to take a leaf out of the Chelsea boss's book when it comes to dropping those who aren't performing.
Both Manchester United and defending champions Chelsea return to Champions League action this week, and both teams are looking for a much needed win to see them rise up their groups.
And if Solskjaer can't find a way to whip his team into submission against Atalanta, pressure on him will only continue to mount.
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It's not just Chelsea that Murphy believes Ole should copy to get back to winning ways.
"Liverpool have won the Champions League and the Premier League playing a 4-3-3. They had three attackers and two of those three work like dogs".
It's fair to say that Solskjaer has struggled to get the fighting power out of his squad, an opinion that was echoed by United star Paul Pogba following the defeat at the King Power.
"We have to be more mature, play with more experience and arrogance in a good way. We need to find something, we need to change."
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Murphy believes that if Ole can get his best players working harder for their spots, and shifting formations around until they do, the problems United face could may well solve themselves.
"He [Solskjaer] was talking about 'the United way', but 'the United way' is winning first, good football second," said Murphy.
"Yes if you can do both together, great. But the United way isn't losing all the time."
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