A Manchester United manager going away to Anfield and coming back with three points doesn’t happen often, especially after Sir Alex Ferguson, so Ruben Amorim deserves immense credit.
The team selection before the game was unpopular, but Ruben Amorim explained the reasoning clearly.
However, the way everything is looked at is through the lens of the result, so Amorim walks away as a mastermind instead of a loser.
Still, one brave call he took to set the tone against Liverpool is what he should be praised for, even if Man United had lost. It changed the game.
Ruben Amorim’s brave call with Amad
So far in this league season, Man Utd have played four of the conventional “top-six” teams – Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, and Liverpool.
A common theme that occurred in those first three games before Liverpool was broken in the game against Liverpool, and it made all the difference.
Amorim called Amad ‘perfect’ for the wing-back position in his system after the 2-1 win against Liverpool, but he wasn’t the one starting those three games at that position.
In all three fixtures, Amorim’s nervousness got the better of him, and he chose a defence-first team with Diogo Dalot/Noussair Mazraoui/Patrick Dorgu as his wing-backs.
Those are fine players, but their profiles couldn’t be more different from Amad, who is a proactive selection instead of a reactive one.
Against Liverpool, Amorim finally was brave and threw Amad at wing-back to put pressure on Liverpool, and it paid dividends.
Amad was in Milos Kerkez’s face from the first minute, and the moment Bryan Mbeumo’s goal came down his side, it was all downhill for the left-back.
Amorim’s call had changed the game, setting the tone for a Man Utd squad who made it clear they were not there for a smash-and-grab.
Amorim should set the tone with more such calls
The stench of so many defeats can often be clearly noticed in Amorim’s team selections, which have become far more “conventional” in a bad sense.
No longer are there the surprise call-ups of an academy player or the attacking tweak to get the team to respond somehow.
He has gone back to the basics of playing his most experienced players and simplifying their roles as much as he can.
That will help United get out of their rut, which is as much about the mental side of things as it is about the talent of the squad.
However, once that happens, this Amad call should set the precedent for Amorim picking more proactive teams as the squad itself starts to trust themselves more.
This win needs to be the start of a virtuous cycle.
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