If people think Bernardo Silva is playing right wing for Manchester City, why do we then label Amad Diallo a right wing-back for Manchester United, when for all intents and purposes, both players operate nearly the same out wide, in and out of possession?

I am going to show you both Manchester City and Manchester United’s formations, with and without the names of the players, in and out of possession. I would say this is their average position.

The Manchester City example is their most used formation in the past two years. The Manchester United example is from new manager Ruben Amorim’s first Premier League match against Everton.

Try to guess which player is Bernardo Silva and Josko Gvardiol for Manchester City, then Amad Diallo and Diego Dalot for Manchester United.

Now ask yourself the question, what formation are both teams using?

Is Manchester City using a back three with two wingers, or are Josko Gvardiol and Bernardo Silva wing-backs, or is Josko Gvardiol a left-back that becomes a winger in possession while Bernardo Silva stays playing as a right winger?

This is the problem I have with the discourse around formations.

We immediately apply labels to the team of an offensive-minded coach, Pep Guardiola, that we wouldn’t apply to the team with inferior players, Manchester United. The masses would say, of course Ruben Amorim is using a back five with wing-backs; he doesn’t have the players to be offensive like City.

In reality, those two specific sets of players operate nearly in the same way, but Manchester City is talked about with offensive terms. The masses would say Josko Gvardiol is a left-back who becomes a left winger, and Bernardo Silva is playing right wing. While Diogo Dalot and Amad Diallo are both seen as wing-backs.

If Manchester United maintains, say, 80% possession, and Amad Diallo stays higher up the pitch, is he now considered a right-winger? If they maintain 20% possession, is he playing as a right midfielder?

We talk more about the labels because it is convenient to label things, but sometimes the labels are misleading, which then confuses those who want to know what the formation is.