Man United have just finished their 6th match under Ruben Amorim with 3 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw. After 6 matches, the Portuguese strategist has still not been able to find a satisfactory playing style and starting lineup based on the 3-4-3 formation. Against weak opponent Plzen, Man United even had to struggle to get a 2-1 victory after conceding the first goal.
"Being bad at something is the first step to learning how to become better", this saying is true for Man United as they are playing and correcting at the same time. Amorim has seen many current shortcomings but only 3 weeks is not enough to correct everything in the context of the Manchester Derby right before their eyes.
It is easy to see that Man United's confidence has improved. There are no more situations where they lose control when the opponent attacks, even the teams that are not highly rated. The players can make mistakes and waver but they are no longer afraid.
Against Plzen in the first half, Amorim's team wanted to push the pace of the match as high as possible, but the speed of running and the ability to circulate the ball did not match. There were many times when Plzen actively played a tight defense and they were so confident that they could easily block the opponent's attacks. Man United also could not create a breakthrough in the first minutes with passes behind the home team's defense.
In the first few minutes, Joshua Zirkzee had a few bad moments, even losing the ball foolishly. Then, when Amorim put pressure on the sidelines, things gradually stabilized. The 39-year-old strategist once said that Manchester United had many situations of sloppy ball rotation, the players needed to be more decisive and quicker in each pass. Training students to possess such good skills could not be a matter of a moment for Amorim.
The match against Plzen saw many small mistakes from the M.U players, besides the careless pass that led to Andre Onana's goal. However, for Amorim, it was the type of mistake that could be corrected. The young coach is very confident that he can help the team improve with each match, not needing a few weeks to make a change.
In addition to improving the small things, Amorim also showed fans that Man United's current squad is not perfect. The 39-year-old strategist has not kept the same starting lineup in any match. In the victory over Plzen, Amorim made 3 consecutive changes, with Marcus Rashford coming on for Rasmus Hojlund, Antony coming on for Tyrell Malacia and Mason Mount coming on for Zirkzee. These changes left the home team with no way to approach the "Red Devils" goal.
Amorim then brought on Alejandro Garnacho and Manuel Ugarte for Diogo Dalot and Casemiro. Each change brought his team closer to a positive result. While Mount improved his directness in the box, Antony was good at stretching the opposition defence. Garnacho was always the spark for counter-attacks and Ugarte did a good job of blocking in midfield.
The Plzen game was not a pleasant one from minute one to 90 but it brought Man United 3 points and 7th place in the Europa League qualifying table. How things turn out will depend on the final result and Amorim are showing signs of positivity.
"The pace of the game has improved. I told the players that we need to move more forward to show the opponents how dangerous Man United are.
The team made appropriate adjustments, and the reserve players also proved useful when they were put on the field. We not only improved the way we played, but more importantly, we changed the outcome in our favor," Amorim shared after the match.
