Ruben Amorim downplays huge Man United positive ahead of derby clash | OneFootball

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has downplayed glowing statistics suggesting his side are performing far better than many believe.

United endure mixed start to the season

United have had a mixed start to the 2025/26 campaign, winning one game, drawing one and losing twice across all competitions.

Despite suffering an opening day defeat to Arsenal, United produced an encouraging performance. However, the subsequent game was very disappointing despite salvaging a point in a 1-1 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Things went from bad to worse for United as they proceeded to be knocked out of the EFL Cup by League Two outfit Grimsby Town. Amorim and his players found themselves at the end of intense criticism and scrutiny from the media, as doubts surfaced over the head coach’s future.

However, heading into the September international break, United beat Burnley 3-2 at Old Trafford to claim their first three points of the season.

Although recent displays lacked consistency, the brief halt in fixtures showcased positives that suggest momentum could be building.

The Peoples Person highlighted stats which noted that no team in the Premier League had fired more shots and more shots in the box than United.

The Red Devils had also registered the second-most shots on target. Unfortunately for United, they let themselves down with their finishing, boastig the fifth worst conversion rate in the top flight.

United also managed the highest xG in the league and the most number of touches in the opposition box.

Ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Manchester City at the Etihad, Amorim was asked about these underlying statistics and whether they should be a cause for optimism.

Amorim gives verdict on United’s promising stats

He told club media, “That is important also to show the players. But we also connect that data to the image and I think we could play quite [a bit] better against Fulham.”

“We should [still] be in the [Carabao] Cup and we show that today to the players, to return also to that mindset that we have a lot to do. And we know how important this game is for our fans.”

“So, of course, we used all this data to say to the players that we are improving, but you need to score goals and I think we have [had] that problem with these first games.”

He said about the City game, “First of all, our goal is to have that feeling that when we play against City, we have the same feeling as when we play Grimsby. That is our goal, to play every game from our team with the same mindset. So it’s just one more game, really important, but it should be a game against City every week.”

“I think City has that way of playing with a lot of possession. They change, a lot, the way they build up and that is a problem to press. But we focus a lot on our team. We have a way of defending that we can adapt to different systems.”

He stressed that United will be fearless and look to dominate the ball vs. Pep Guardiola’s men.

“We need to have the ball also, that is really important, because we play with the ball and we show that in the last games, so we cannot face City thinking about just in transitions or trying to steal the ball. No, we can have the ball, and we will try to do it.”

Asked how he spent the international break, Amorim revealed that he went back over his side’s recent outings while also analysing City’s games in preparation for Sunday.

Featured image Matt McNulty via Getty Images

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