Coach Ruben Amorim did not celebrate enthusiastically after the final whistle to end Manchester United's thrilling 3-2 victory over rookie Burnley.
He just shook hands with Scott Parker, received a hug from Joshua Zirkzee and quietly headed down the tunnel. Occasionally, Amorim stops to wip the drops of rain on his forehead and applaud the fans.
It all stopped there. Amorim did not cheer, did not hold a fist to celebrate, but more than that, he breathed a sigh of relief.
In the pre-match press conference, Amorim once spoke frankly about the emotional turmoil of sitting in the hot seat at Old Trafford, especially after the shock of being eliminated by Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup. "Sometimes I love the players, sometimes I hate them," he said.
And perhaps after seeing his side lose the advantage to Burnley twice, before Bruno Fernandes needed a penalty in the 97th minute to win the first of the season, Amorim had fully experienced those opposing emotions.
Last season, right on his 40th birthday, Amorim joked that he felt like he was 50 years old. In the tense moments against Burnley, he even looked much older. However, under the suffocating pressure, the victory was still a victory and in the end, Man United got what they needed.
At least, these 3 points will give Amorim more time to prepare for more convincing victories when the Premier League returns after the international break. But whether Man United can do that is still a big question mark, especially with the next two challenges named Manchester City and Chelsea.
Amorim, who has gone through a lot of turmoil in his 10 months at Old Trafford, calmed down and said: "There were no turning points. I've told you this about 10 times. The match ended well.
I think we deserved to win. But at this moment, every time they attack near the penalty area, it seems they can score. We have to always chase a lot of things. However, we tried until the last minute to create an opportunity, and in the end the victory was worth it."
The results were not the only bright spot. Man United had 26 shots, enough to end the match in the first half if they took advantage. Amad Diallo missed a penalty after a sharp counter-attack initiated by Joshua Zirkzee, while Bryan Mbeumo also wasted a regrettable situation.
However, Mbeumo still left his mark when he scored his first Premier League goal for the "Red Devils", after scoring against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup. The Cameroonian striker's energetic overall performance has given fans hope. He could well become an important piece for Amorim's controversial 3-4-3 system to start working in the right direction.
"It's impressive. The way he stretches the formation, the quality of the first touches. You can feel that we are a different team, because when we win the ball, we have someone who knows how to open the space.
Last season, we had a lot of problems with that," Amorim said when asked about Mbeumo's performance.
However, the inherent weakness in the defense has not been overcome. Man United ended up in disappointing 15th place in the Premier League last season, and against Burnley, those problems continued to appear. After conceding two goals against Grimsby, they suffered two more goals from Scott Parker's side.
There are factors in Man United's playing style that are enough to make fans cold when thinking about upcoming away trips to Etihad and Anfield. However, for Amorim, the most important thing right now is the players' reaction after the shock at Grimsby.
Any below-standard performance will leave the Portuguese captain's seat facing serious questions.
This is only Amorim's fifth win at Old Trafford since he took charge last November. He himself also clearly knew that a late goal against Burnley was not enough to turn the wave of growing skepticism.
To truly convince fans that he can pull Man United out of the vicious cycle of mediocrity over the past decade, Amorim needs more moments of salvation in extra time.
