The “Eureka” moment of Ruben Amorim’s short reign so far arrived under the brightest lights as Manchester United beat their city rivals 2-1.
Etihad Stadium was witness to a comeback of epic proportions as Bruno Fernandes and Amad scripted a memorable win with two goals within 115 seconds of each other late on.
Overall, Man Utd’s performance certainly deserved a draw so getting one better is a just reward for a team that needs all the encouragement it can get as it builds towards something.
Amorim has repeatedly stressed after every game, regardless of the result, that there is still a long way to go but what he saw in the 61st minute vs Man City would have pleased him to no end.
Ruben Amorim’s ideal Man Utd on display in 61st minute
Amorim’s tenure at Old Trafford so far has had two buzzwords- Intensity and calmness. Intensity when the team doesn’t have the ball, calmness when they do.
Retaining possession with intelligent passing instead of making every game a basketball one has been the number one priority for Amorim.
It has led to frustration at times too, since the players confuse retaining possession with passing sideways without any threat.
However, when it does work, it looks beautiful and the passage of play leading up to Amad’s shot on goal in the 61st minute was Amorim’s football in full flow.
It all started in the 60th minute when a clearance found Harry Maguire in his own half. There was no danger and Maguire passed it to his partner, Matthijs de Ligt.
The ball circulated to both wings as United tried to look for an incisive pass or dribble but to no avail. Instead of forcing the issue, it went back to the centre-backs.
City sensed some carelessness and pushed up which led to United going all the way back to the goalkeeper but they were only baiting the press.
From Onana, some quick interplay led to De Ligt being in space on the right and when Mainoo passed to Amad, the speed of the attack was suddenly ramped up by the Ivorian.
He cut inside and passed to a rushing Martinez on the other wing, who found Dalot in acres of space as United switched wings in just two quick passes.
Dalot found Fernandes in the left half-space from where he crossed for Amad in the box, his header tipped wide of the post by Ederson.
It was United’s first shot on target of the game and it came following a passage of 38 passes where almost every player touched the ball.
Man Utd squad is improving with every game
Amorim has been at pains to stress that the time spent on training ground is much needed to imprint his ideas onto the Man Utd squad and so far, he hasn’t got much of it.
What he has done in that case is add slight layers of instructions with every game, almost breaking down his philosophy into small, digestible bits of information.
First came the effort and intensity of running back, especially when the ball is lost. This was the easiest to fix because it’s as much about desire as it is about any tactical instruction.
Then came ball possession and becoming confident on the ball instead of treating it like a ticking time bomb.
That came at the cost of penetration and some toothless attacking performances, where United bossed possession without looking threatening.
The first signs of purpose and forward-thinking were clear against Manchester City where, even though it wasn’t perfect, there was a clear building block.
It is remarkable progress considering the hubris he walked into and it will only make Man Utd fans more hopeful for the future.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
