MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 19: Ruben Amorim, Manager of Manchester United, reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Brighton & Hove Albion FC at Old Trafford on January 19, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
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Ruben Amorim’s team was the better side for the first 15 minutes of the Manchester Derby.
Manchester City looked uncomfortable and there were flashes of danger from the visitors that will have given the Portuguese manager hope.
But then, as has ever been the case, Manchester United conceded.
To fall behind at the Etihad Stadium is no shame; plenty of great sides have been well beaten there.
But the manner in which they conceded was just horrendous. United had everyone back in their defensive shape, but somehow, Jeremy Doku could still wander into the box and find an unmarked Phil Foden to head home.
The fact that they conceded another two in similarly chaotic circumstances only emphasised the point: This is a team with something seriously wrong.
Post-match, Amorim was raging.
“I felt that if you look at the goals, those moments, we could avoid,” he said.
“And that is the key of the games, to take advantage of these moments and they took it, in transitions. In those moments, they were better than us.”
Increasingly, the manager’s system is being blamed for the poor results. After decrying the manner in which goals were conceded, Amorim was asked by a journalist whether it was time to accept that his tactics, which have delivered a mere eight Premier League wins under him, weren’t working.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Manchester United at Etihad Stadium on September 14, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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“It’s not a record that you should have in Manchester United,” he replied.
“There are a lot of things that you have no idea what happened during these months, but I accept that. But I’m not going to change.
“When I want to change my philosophy, I will change. If not, you have to change the man.
“So, we’ll talk about that every game, every game that we lose. ‘I don’t believe in that, in the system, ‘ or whatever. So, I play my way and I’m going to play my way until I want to change.”
When asked to justify his assertion that Manchester United was better than last season, Amorim pulled an example from the previous campaign. Tellingly, it was one he’d overseen as Sporting Lisbon manager.
He continued: “I see that we are doing better, but then the results don’t show that.
“Again, I remember last year we play, in the former club [Sporting], we play against City.
“We won 4-1 [in the UEFA Champions League]. It was not near the opportunities, the way we control the game compared to today.
“But in certain moments, we were not better than City. So, I understand that, and it’s hard, and the record says everything, so I understand.”
Outside the regular schedenfreude that rivals of Manchester United feel when watching the Red Devils struggle, there is one man who might feel vindication in Ruben Amorim’s disastrous reign.
Dan Ashworth had been brought into the club to develop the long-term strategic plan Sir Jim Ratcliffe desperately craved.
Reports blamed his sudden exit shortly after the Portuguese manager arrived on ‘personality clashes’ and a different vision.
But Sky Sports has since reported that Ashworth thought Amorim was the wrong choice and would cause more disruption to an already unsteady ship.
“United’s squad had already needed to adjust to a new backroom team behind Ten Hag this season, and Ashworth thought it best to minimise upheaval, especially given the club’s precarious financial position,” the outlet claimed.
“Liverpool’s choice of the understated Arne Slot to replace Jurgen Klopp – a stylistic fit allowing for on-pitch continuity through all the age groups as well as recruitment – was used as an example.
“The league leaders liked Amorim and his aura; he had made their shortlist, but his commitment to three at the back and his general philosophy had jarred with the squad and the direction the club had taken.”
Those words seem very apt for the club’s current situation, although Amorim’s aura and leadership haven’t come to fruition in the manner the club might expect.
As BBC pundit Danny Murphy pointed out, the issues go beyond the system.
“They are making the same mistakes, and they are not even that difficult to prevent,” he wrote in his regular column.
“I’ve highlighted the issues with Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation since he took charge at Old Trafford last season, and I am not a fan of that shape, but they have worked on it and you can tell.
“They look more compact as a team now, when they are attacking or defending. They get in quite a good shape and the distances between their lines are much smaller, which makes them harder to play through.
“Unfortunately for Amorim, the improvements they have made there have been overlooked because of the silly mistakes they are making in conceding goals which are costing them points.
“When I look at some of the goals they have conceded this season, including Phil Foden’s opener for City at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, they are down to selection issues, and players being used in the wrong position, rather than the system itself.”
That final point is the most damning because it proves Ashworth’s reported apprehension and need for incremental rather than radical alterations.
A bleak thought for Manchester United supporters is; where do they go from here?
Once again, the club has invested large sums of money in a coach rather than a long-term vision. The pattern of blaming star players, whether Cristiano Ronaldo or Marcus Rashford, is looking foolish, and the side has plummeted in form.
But, as former Manchester United keeper Ben Foster pointed out on his podcast Fozcast, there might only be one solution soon.
“It’s been rumbling for a long time,” he said.
“Nobody wants to really commit to it [sacking Amorim], but I guarantee you that if they’ve got eight points and they’re still in 14th position after eight games, somebody’s going to have to pull the trigger.
“It can’t carry on like that. It’s nearly a year since he’s been managing and it’s been proven that it’s not working.
“I get that he wants to play that system, but if you haven’t got the players, you can’t play it. Surely you just play your best players in their best position, because then you’ll get the best out of them.”
It makes you think: How much better would things have been if they’d just listened to the guy they brought in to do strategy?
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