‘We suffered together’ – Amorim changes style as Man Utd win

Ruben Amorim, the head coach of Manchester United, has a set of beliefs regarding the best way to win and how the game should be played.

However, his traditional perspective did not contribute to the 1-0 Premier League victory over Newcastle as the Christmas gift.

The formation switch was present for one reason.

Amorim made the joke that even the Pope could persuade him to change in September, but for the first time since taking over 13 months ago, he fielded a back four.

Additionally, they were awarded victory with 33.4% possession, which is their lowest level in any game this season. Since the 29.4% they had in a victory against Manchester City in January 2023, United had their lowest possession percentage ever.

Compared to Newcastle, they had 16 shots at Old Trafford. In their opponent’s box, the visitors managed 43 touches. 15 of Amorim’s men were men.

However, Manchester United won thanks to a combination of Patrick Dorgu’s first goal for the club, which was a superb first-half volley from the edge of the area, and only his second season-clean sheet.

It wasn’t pretty, either. However, there are times when substance triumphs over style, even for Amorim.

When asked if this was one of his, at times, tortuous 13 months in charge, the unwavering response was “Yes”.

The sensation is pleasant. In some situations, we put everything on the line, but today we suffered so much more than other games.

Every cross is being defended by us. Even in the second half, especially if you watch the second half, we occasionally managed to defend with a back six.

Eddie Howe, the manager of Newcastle, returned to the north-east of England after another disappointing away performance. He acknowledged that his country failed to create the kind of meaningful chances that would have earned the most points from their territorial advantage.

The outcome, however, felt significant for the home side.

At other extremes of the experience spectrum are Lisandro Martinez and Ayden Heaven.

One has won the World Cup, though he is only just recovering from the most recent bad injury. The other player, age 19, has made 15 senior appearances in his first season and has now completed the longest playing streak of his first-team career, totaling five games.

Martinez and Heaven were fantastic when they were paired together in the middle of a revised back four, with Dorgu switching Amorim’s attack to the right and Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot as fullbacks.

Amorim remarked, “He [Martinez] is a guy with a lot of character.”

He is used to that stress because he is “extremely good on the ball” and has won the World Cup, but he showed today that he is a top player.

He is a small man, but he did well today against a team that had tall players.

It was impressive to watch 5′ 9″ Martinez leap high to beat 6′ 6″ Nick Woltemade in the opening half.

Even though Amorim had to protect a player who had just returned from cruciate knee ligament surgery, there must have been concern when Martinez took the field two minutes later when Tyler Fredricson, age 20, replaced him.

Fredricson did a good job. However, he also had Heaven with him to provide more stability.

The former Arsenal youngster started against West Ham on December 4, and he almost immediately was booked and looked so shaky that it almost shocks him until Leny Yoro replaced him.

Heaven has advanced quickly in just five games and three weeks.

He excelled in the 21 December defeat at Aston Villa, where he received the host broadcaster’s man-of-the-match award, and followed that up with a mature performance in the match against Newcastle.

Amorim is warning Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt, who are currently sidelined, that due to how good Heaven has been, they are unable to be certain of receiving their places back when they are recovered.

That has two meanings. De Ligt was United’s best defender up until a back injury forced him to miss the West Ham game. Meanwhile, Maguire is still waiting to find out whether United will renew his contract when it expires this summer.

Amorim remarked, “I am really pleased with Ayden.”

He seems to be improving every game, he says. He performed incredibly well, which demonstrates how effective training is for playing.