Amorim timeline – his Man United career broken down in pictures | OneFootball

Manchester United sacked their manager Ruben Amorim on Monday, marking an explosive start to the week.

Darren Fletcher will be in the dugout tomorrow versus Burnley, with Jonny Evans and Travis Binnion assisting him.

Talks are also currently underway for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to make a sensational return as caretaker manager until the end of the season. Nonetheless, Amorim’s 14 months in charge at Old Trafford may have been short on success, but there was rarely a dull moment during a tumultuous time at United.

New era: 15th December 2024

The Portuguese manager agreed to leave Sporting CP in October, but did not take charge of his first match until the end of November against Ipswich Town.

His first big win would come at the Etihad against Manchester City in December. He made the huge call to drop Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho from the squad. In fact, Rashford would not play for United again.

The Red Devils came from 1-0 down to win 2-1 with late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Amad. United fans were joyous, and many believed this would be the first big win of many for Amorim’s United.

Man United 5-4 Olympique Lyonnais: 17th April 2025

Things had not gone to plan for Amorim, as United toiled in the lower half of the table.

Nonetheless, they did find success in Europe, and Amorim’s team produced one of the most stunning comebacks in Old Trafford’s storied history.

With only eight minutes of extra time left, United were two goals down. Divine inspiration or something took over, as Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire produced a rousing comeback to win the match 5-4 and 7-6 on aggregate, taking United into the semi-finals of the Europa League.

Final heartbreak vs Tottenham Hotspur: 21st May 2025

The Red Devils finished Amorim’s first season in charge in a dismal 15th place in the league.

Nonetheless, the Europa League offered hope and promise as they took on Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao. United had more possession and chances, but depressingly sank to a 0-1 defeat, and United were left without any silverware for the first time since 2022.

Grim night in Grimsby: 27th August 2025

United had the unusual experience of playing a League Cup tie in August, owing to the fact they had no European commitments this season.

Amorim was backed heavily in the summer and totally revamped his attack with the signings of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko. That optimism turned to despair as United were dumped out on penalties by League Two Grimsby Town.

It was not only the result, but the fact that the Premier League side were frequently holding on against their lowly rivals, that pushed fans’ concern into overdrive. It would also be the only match that Kobbie Mainoo would start this season, in what would become a story that would dominate the final months of Amorim’s tenure.

Anfield joy: 19th October 2025

In spite of how grim things would be at times, the former Sporting CP manager always seemed capable of pulling a result out of the bag.

This happened in October, when a late Harry Maguire header saw United win their first game at Liverpool’s stadium since 2016. In spite of all the negativity, Amorim had two huge wins at the Etihad and Anfield under his belt.

Loss to ten men: 24th November 2025

Results began to pick up in October and November, and United regularly began to stay in the top half of the table, pushing for the Champions League spots.

Nonetheless, this momentum was deflated like a popped balloon in United’s 0-1 defeat to Everton at Old Trafford.

What made matters worse was that United were playing against a side who went down to ten men after just 13 minutes. In spite of having an age to win or even equalise, Amorim’s side failed to take their chances, and the dark clouds grew once more.

The result was even more poignant, as it was exactly a year to the day since Amorim took control of his first game at the club.

Boxing Day change: 26th December 2025

One of the key reasons behind Amorim’s sacking has been the disagreement between director of football Jason Wilcox and himself over tactics.

Amorim stuck rigidly to a 3-4-3 for months, but finally yielded and shocked Newcastle United with a formation change on Boxing Day. Despite a heavily depleted team, United held on for a brave 1-0 victory in what would be Amorim’s last win for the club.

Wolves pain: 30th December 2025

As 2025 came to an end, Old Trafford dreamed their team had finally turned a corner.

Entering the match, their opponents Wolves on the 30th December had only picked up two points in 18 matches.

This would change, as they drew 1-1 and honestly could have even snatched the win. What’s more, Amorim bizarrely reverted back to his three at the back in spite of the positivity of four days earlier.

The end: 4th January 2026

Unlike Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Erik ten Hag, Amorim’s final match was not a defeat.

In fact, it was a credible 1-1 draw with Leeds United that could have easily been a victory if the Red Devils had taken second-half chances from Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha. Nonetheless, tensions were at boiling point behind the scenes even before the game, as Amorim called out the footballing structure and was clearly irked by a lack of transfer activity.

He stormed out of his post-match press conference, and in less than 24 hours, he was sacked and United fans are once again left to pick up their energy to get behind yet another project.

Featured image Warren Little via Getty Images

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