Thread by @AttackingFooty

🚨 Ruben Amorim’s First Game as Manchester United Manager: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!

🧵 A thread by our writers and analysts: @yassineihab93 & @FathalliMohamed.

The Ruben Amorim era has officially kicked off at Manchester United! The Portuguese manager oversaw his first game in charge—a 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town.

The result and overall performance have left fans split, and so in this thread, we will try to cover the positives AND negatives of the Portugese's first game in charge.

Likes, RTs, QTs, and Follows are always appreciated!

#IPSMUN #MUFC #GGMU

PS: Before we dive in, let’s make one thing clear—this thread is not about drawing any big conclusions about Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United.

This was only his first game in charge, after just a handful of training sessions with a squad that’s still getting used to him—and vice versa.

The thoughts shared here are solely based on this match and nothing more.

The Good:

The first thing every United fan likely noticed in this game was just how quickly Ruben Amorim managed to introduce his signature Sporting structural principles to this United side.

The team set up in a base 3-4-3 formation, which seamlessly shifted into a 3-2-5 in possession and a 5-2-3 when defending.

The players' roles and movements were textbook Amorim—wingbacks providing width, pivot players remaining deep and central, the number tens occupying the half-spaces, and frequently dropping deep to support the build-up, etc...

Classic Amorim rigidity.

United’s only goal, scored just one minute into the game, had Amorim’s blueprint written all over it.

The move started with United calmly circulating the ball between Onana and the backline with De Ligt, stepping up in the "Diomande role" to form the pivot. You can here see Amorim's usual 3-2-5 build up structure.

By baiting Ipswich’s press, United created a ton of space for Amad to exploit. Once the ball reached him, he charged up the pitch, combining beautifully with Bruno along the way.

The result? A 3-on-2 situation in Ipswich’s box. Rashford and Garnacho pinned the center-backs, leaving Dalot wide open at the back post for a simple tap-in. Boom—1-0 United.

Another repeated pattern that Amorim brought from Sporting is his usage of wrong-footed Wingbacks to play those passes from outside to inside, which, if executed properly, can lead to efficient central progression of the ball or even chance creation.

The more patient approach in the build-up, emphasizing passing the ball with intent, was also a big change.

Manchester United did not look to go long in every sequence of play, and instead, tried to slowly build-out from the back before targeting the number 10s movement with direct passes. Out of United 260 passes in the first half, only 20 went long.

Perhaps these two passing maps of Andre Onana game's against Westham and Ipswich show the change of the build-up approach, which btw, will only provide a better platform for keeper's ability on the ball.

Another positive worth highlighting is Amorim's in game changes that somewhat gave United more control, at least in the final 15 minutes of the game.

The introduction of Luke Shaw and Manuel Ugarte provided more stability for the Red Devils both in and out of possession while Hojlund's presence gave Ipswich defenders something to get busy with.

The Bad:

Although the more patient and structured build-up approach was like a breath of fresh air, it was obvious that Manchester United players are still unaccustomed to efficiently progressing the ball through the thirds.

With both Casemiro and Eriksen unable to receive on the half turn and carry the ball forward with power, the Red Devils' possession was rendered "sterile," with sideways passes being the common theme of the game,

@markrstats

Sure, Amorim is still trying players in different positions, and he got it right using Mazraoui as the RCB in this game. The Morrocain brought that sense of technical security on the ball and is the main progressor of the team.

However, the usage of Amad Diallo as the RWB might not be the optimal solution for both the club and the player.

Amad often struggled to defend the space in behind, which is completely normal given it's a completely normal role for him. The bigger issue is how limited the player becomes when he's not operating in his best zones: high up the pitch and into the right half-space.

The player's best moments of the match came from those positions (the assist + the chance created in the final minutes of the game)

What likely concerned Manchester United fans the most was the team’s overly passive approach out of possession—particularly when it came to pressing.

The Red Devils averaged just 11.6 PPDA and managed only three high turnovers throughout the match. On top of that, the defensive line was positioned at a modest height of 43.1.

This could be down to Amorim not yet trusting the players’ physical levels or their understanding of spatial awareness to press aggressively higher up the pitch. However, even in the mid and low-block phases, the pressing structure could only be described as “mediocre.”

Not only was the front pressing line passive, but the distances between the lines were also too wide. Combining the two just gave Ipswich the perfect conditions to overload central areas and pick the gaps between the players to progress the ball.

"If we try to just win games and don't risk nothing in this moment, I guarantee next year at the same stage we will have the same problems. We have to address the new idea and try to be better."

This is what Ruben Amorim said after the game in yet another brilliant display in front of the cameras. His words couldn’t have been more accurate—there are still plenty of issues for the Red Devils to fix.

The road ahead is long, and there will likely be more lows than highs before Amorim fully implements his philosophy. But when it all comes together, there’s no doubt the Portuguese manager has what it takes to bring Manchester United back to where it belongs.

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