Ruben Amorim is showing sad signs of Man United's personnel situation in the 2025 AFCON. The team lost 3 stars at the same time: Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui. Therefore, in the press conference before the match against Aston Villa, the Portuguese strategist gave early warnings.
It is undeniable that Man United played well against Aston Villa despite the lack of a series of key personnel. In addition to the three Africans who have to take a break due to AFCON, Amorim will also not have the services of Casemiro (ponus card) and Kobbie Mainoo (injured). Ruben Amorim will face a very challenging January period and the winter transfer window may not be enough.
With a squad that is missing many key players like now, what Amorim needs most is some factors that can solve the momentum. The reason is that Man United will play with resistance against big teams in the upcoming short period and they need these factors to score. Otherwise, the results of those matches can only be predicted from a draw to a loss if they continue to play with resilience.
In the post-match press conference, Amorim did not deny that the team played well, created many opportunities but could not take full advantage. This is not the first time Amorim has seen this problem, but it is extremely difficult to solve it in the context of limited finances and the attraction of the team is no longer as before to welcome talents.
Compared to the draw with Bournemouth, Man United played more proactively in the match against Aston Villa. The two full-backs, Patrick Dorgu and Diogo Dalot, played higher, approaching the opponent's speedy detonators. Ayden Heaven was tasked with keeping up with Ollie Watkins for most of the game, while Leny Yoro was deployed alongside Morgan Rogers.
Man United created many opportunities from Matheus Cunha's shots or a dangerous penalty broke from Benjamin Sesko. Man United is still the team that creates the most dangerous situations in the league, but partly because they are not sharp at the decisive moment, they just let the opportunity slip away. Then, when Yoro's lackluster minutes appeared, Amorim's team paid the price for that lack of sharpness.
Bruno Fernandes has been forced off injured. Since joining the team in January 2020, he has only missed 3 matches for this reason. Amorim said Bruno will be out at least until the end of December, with no set date for his comeback. Casemiro will return soon, but this is the first time Man United have entered a period of both lack of key personnel and the lack of a conductor for the team. Even if Mbeumo, Amad and Mazraoui return early, they are not the factors that regulate the game like what Bruno can do.
In addition to the difficulties in the squad situation, Ruben Amorim also pointed out that the team does not have Champions League qualities, who can bring the team back to this arena. Amorim may still have many limitations in his ability to lead the club, but it cannot be denied that he has too little in hand to revive Man United in a moment.
In the coming time, Man United's schedule is not too difficult, but looking at the current force, it is uncertain whether Amorim's team can win even in matches where they are rated higher than their opponents.
Sir Alex Ferguson has just said that it will probably take 10-11 years for Man United to return to the championship position. The more you look at the current situation of the "Red Devils", the more well-founded Fergie's statement is.
