A year under Amorim: Manchester United’s endless search for progress | OneFootball

One year into Ruben Amorim’s reign as Manchester United manager and—if we’re being kind—it can best be described as faltering.

When United thumped Everton 4-0 at Old Trafford just three games into his tenure, it felt like a landmark moment, a hint of brighter days ahead. But on the anniversary of his appointment, Monday night’s limp 1-0 defeat to ten-man Everton offered a far truer reflection of Amorim’s United.

The stark facts

Amorim’s first match as United manager, a 1-1 draw with Ipswich on November 24, 2024, gave little hint of the chaos to come. By the end of the season, United had slumped to their lowest-ever Premier League finish—15th, having hovered dangerously above the relegation places.

The record books don’t flatter him either. In August, Amorim racked up 15 Premier League defeats quicker than any manager (not taking charge of a newly promoted team) since 2010. By September, following defeat in the derby, he had the worst win percentage of any United boss since the Second World War.

This was posted following Manchester United’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City in September 2025. Image: Sky Sports

And now, the club’s first-ever home loss to ten men in Premier League history.

The flip side

There have been glimmers of progress. Amorim cleared out the so-called ‘bomb squad’ of Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho, accused of souring the mood behind the scenes. He also guided United to a European final last season, a rare highlight in a miserable campaign.

This term, a five-game unbeaten stretch (three wins, two draws) was the club’s best run under him — fuel for cautious optimism. Yet even amid talk of a corner turned, Amorim warned: “These five weeks everyone is praising our evolution. I’m always saying the same things: we are not even near at the moment what we’re supposed to be in this club.”

He wasn’t wrong.

False dawns

Every time United take a step forward, they stagger two back. Last season’s Europa League final ended in a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham in Bilbao. It was crushing, compounded by the decision to essentially abandon the league campaign pursuing it.

Then came the humiliating defeat against League Two side Grimsby in the League Cup three games into the 2025/26 season. Amorim looked like a dead man walking, before a brief rally of three straight wins hauled United back into top-four contention—only for back-to-back 2-2 draws with Nottingham Forest and Spurs to undo the momentum once more.

Every time this team threatens to rise, it stumbles.

The 3-4-3 problem

Love it or loathe it, Amorim lives and dies by his 3-4-3. When United played a more direct and high tempo approach during the five-match unbeaten run, the system functioned. But against ten-man Everton old habits crept back in and that shape looked painfully rigid.

Even after Idrissa Gueye’s red card, after just 13 minutes, Amorim persisted with three centre-backs against lone striker Thierno Barry, who proceeded to dominate in the air. The defeat was bad enough—the manner of it worse.

It was reminiscent of the morale-sapping 1-1 draw with Fulham during the early stages of the 2025/26 campaign. When, despite the painful lessons of the previous year, a full pre-season and a $244 million outlay on a trio of new attackers in Brian Mbuemo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko, the exact same failures were still evident.

Injury deprived Amorim of both Cunha and Sesko for his anniversary match against Everton this week. But should Manchester United really crumble against ten men because of two absences?

The Verdict

Supporters still want Amorim to succeed. They see flashes of order amid the chaos. But the facts are hard to ignore: one year on, United still stumble when opportunity knocks.

The time for tentative steps has long passed. Something surer—something stronger—is overdue.