Manchester United’s first game after sacking Ruben Amorim had many eyes on it, and one moment in the 90th minute summed up why it was the right decision.
It’s remarkable that a manager with a 31% win rate in the Premier League had to take on the bosses to finally get fired, but the end decision was correct.
Still, there is a section of Man Utd fans who believed in the long-term project, and there’s an argument that supports their stand too.
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However, the more United play without him in charge, the more it looks like the right decision to let him go, summed up by one moment against Burnley.
90th minute moment in Burnley vs Man Utd
The 2-2 draw against Burnley, in many ways, was right from Amorim’s playbook, because United had Burnley under the cosh without putting them away.
Burnley scored from a freak own goal and a screamer, while United wasted chance after chance, also being undone by an indefensible referee mistake.
However, those who watched the full game will realise how different it was from the Amorim era, especially the tail end of it.
United having more possession under Amorim was a death sentence for their result, but Darren Fletcher’s side bossed the ball and the territory against Burnley.
More importantly, Fletcher threw the kitchen sink late on to try and win the game, summed up by the reaction of Burnley fans when the five minutes of added time went up in the 90th minute.
Instead of United fans reacting to that added time with fear and trepidation in anticipation of conceding a third, it was the Burnley section who groaned, wanting to escape with a point.
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Therein lies the fundamental dissonance between Amorim’s ideology and United’s philosophy.
Ruben Amorim’s sacking became justified with that moment
It’s not unfair to argue that under Amorim, United would have finished the game desperately hanging on to that result, with the manager talking about suffering after the game.
There are prior examples to hammer home that argument, since the draws against Wolves, Bournemouth, or Nottingham Forest could have all ended up as losses were it not for Senne Lammens’ heroics.
The curious thing is that by trying to escape with a point, United invited pressure under Amorim, eventually buckling under it.
It is in stark contrast to Fletcher committing bodies forward against Burnley, with the Clarets delighted to escape with a point despite being at home.
That is what a Man Utd manager should always do, and it’s something Amorim had stopped doing, with the home loss to Everton a big example.
Nobody is saying that United will suddenly become the best club in the world after sacking Amorim, but moments like these speak volumes about why he was never going to succeed at the club.
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