Coach Ruben Amorim has partly regained the support of Manchester United fans thanks to his tactical flexibility in the draw with Bournemouth. However, the absences due to AFCON are posing new challenges for the Portuguese captain.
After the lack of vitality against Everton and West Ham, many fans have called on the Man United players to play their best and bring worth-watching performances. For many people, that is enough for now.
Although the draw with Bournemouth extended Man United's unimpressive streak of form, with only 2 wins in the last 7 matches, most fans still left Old Trafford with a sense of satisfaction with what the team has shown.
could be an xG or a number of shots to explain why the Reds should have scored more in the first half. However, what makes fans satisfied is not just the statistics.
Leny Yoro was deployed at right-back and showed great energy in his return to the starting lineup, with his determination and impressive pressing ability. Aiden Heaven and Luke Shaw - a pair of centre-backs that few people thought would be seen together - also showed similar spirit. Meanwhile, Mason Mount has increasingly shown the image of the player that Man United recruited from Chelsea in July 2023.
This is the biggest difference: the fighting spirit of the team under Amorim. That is also what fans at home expect and the requirement that Amorim sets for his students. Playing fiercely, winning in the challenges and giving an energetic performance at Old Trafford - Man United did that, despite only getting one point in the end.
However, it is not impossible to ignore the fact that Bournemouth scored relatively easily, and this partly reflects M.U's defensive problems in recent times. After the match, Amorim did not think it was necessary to invest too much in defense. Instead, he believes the current players are qualified enough to improve their defense when playing as a team.
It should also be reiterated that Man United are missing their best defender this season, Matthijs de Ligt, along with two other potential names in the starting lineup, Harry Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui. Lisandro Martinez has come off the bench once more, but is clearly yet to reach his best physical condition and form after a knee injury that has kept him out since February.
In addition to the problems in defense, another aspect that requires urgent improvement - which has existed since last season - is the ability to score. Last season, Man United were among the teams with the fewest goals in the tournament. The board has spent hundreds of millions of pounds to address the issue by bringing in Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko.
However, due to injury problems at the right time for Cunha and Sesko, the attacking trio have only started 3 Premier League games together.
Overall, sixth place at the moment is not a bad result for a team that is still in the process of improvement under Amorim.
