Ruben's Reds managed to pull off the unexpected by beating Newcastle without the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Mainoo, De Ligt, Maguire, Amad, Mazraoui and Mbeumo, as well as a bench of youngsters.
That 1-0 victory over the Magpies pushed United up into 5th level on points with Chelsea on 29. The importance of this triumph cannot go unnoticed yet despite the positivity of picking up the 3 points, there were some aspects of this game that did make you feel confused.
1. Ugarte
Arguably the Uruguayan's best performance for United in a while, what he did in midfield alongside Casemiro was precisely what we were looking for from our pivot all campaign.
Against a Newcastle side with a strong midfield of their own, admittedly, I was worried when coming up against them. Myself along with most of the fan base, would've preferred the butcher Martinez in midfield instead after the stand-in captain's top performance in the second half at Villa Park.
The manager decided against this to everyone's frustrations yet it turned out to be the correct decision.
Ugarte was at his best as he and his fellow South American pretty much neutralized Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali. United's no 25 was everywhere as he covered ground well, was used to press high as Casemiro sat deeper, tracked back well, made some good tackles and blocks and even performed a Cruyff turn that the man himself would've been proud of.
This just showed the confidence with which he was playing.
I like Ugarte. I think there is a player in there however, I have to acknowledge that with him, he is either great or shockingly shit. There's no in-between.
I know that his minutes are infrequent yet when he gets the chance, he needs to show some level of consistency or at least gradual improvements in his performances. Against Newcastle and in other matches, we've seen him at this high level only to drop a disasterclass in his next match.
Nonetheless, he was so good in this game that Amorim CANNOT drop him against Wolves. Which Ugarte we'll get is another matter but he's at least earned his spot in that lineup.
2. Holding On
This is not something we've mentioned many times with United, for a while. Usually, when we have a slender lead, most of us don't sit comfortably thinking that we have this one under control
Newcastle were the better side until Dorgu's cracker after which it was the home team in the ascendency. In the second half though, it felt like it was all Eddie Howe's team.
This is where that lack of confidence and trust comes into play because we've seen so many times this season where we led at the break only to find ourselves going behind in quick succession to a point where we have to rescue things late on.
I actually had such little confidence that I thought that this would be the game where that halftime record would disappear.
Fortunately, that wasn't the case and I was proved wrong as United managed to hold on.
It was a bit of a Mourinho masterclass but the difference was that there was more of a chance that the players would see the game out under the Special One whereas now, less so. That second goal needed to come to give us that comfort and more of a feeling that we would get the win.
Why Amorim went ultra defensive and so early is still a mystery because there's been no evidence to suggest that this team is capable of holding on to these narrow leads.
Nevertheless, the fact that we managed to hold on all the same is an improvement even more so when you look at the absentees and the team that finished the game.
3. Need To Improve Transitions
I find that our transitions aren't good enough.
We are quite slow both in terms of the passing, decision-making and overall speed. At other times, we don't make the most of the numbers advantage.
For a side that seems a lot more adept at playing counter-attacking or transitional football, it makes no sense that we have no real pace in this team. Even with everyone fit, Mbeumo and Amad don't really provide that rapid speed that we truly need to punish teams.
That takes away from any chances of scoring on the break.
The quality in terms of movement or passing is also an issue. There was an instance where United won the ball back, had an overload but due to a heavy pass by Cunha, he forced Sesko wide and the opportunity was gone.
Sometimes taking too long in possession is something else that we need to look at because we'll have players in good positions but fail to play the right pass at the right time. Early on in the game, Mount found himself in space high up the field. Had the pass been played to him quickly, there would've been a decent opportunity for him to be in on goal.
I'm not a huge fan of having to rely on transitions or counters to score but if it's done right, it can be very effective. This is pretty much what we did under Solskjaer and it worked relatively well. Bruno to Rashford was a key partnership in this. The skipper was also played higher up the field so as to influence these counters a lot more which isn't what he can do from a deeper position.
4. Amorim Self Sabotage?
It feels like it, doesn't it?
United were looking good for a decent portion of that first period sitting in a 4-3-3. We played some good football at times, were very gritty in the performance and looked a lot more comfortable.
We got the goal, improved and kept Newcastle relatively at bay whilst managing to carve some clear openings of our own.
And then, those substitutions.
Casemiro off at 60 minutes was perhaps one of the strangest subs we've seen all season and there has been some doozies. The Brazilian himself was left completely bewildered 🥴.
The Brazilian is the exact type of player you want in this situation where you're holding on. He's defensive, good in the air and has that experience that you need in such circumstances. He didn't play last week so was fresh and nor was he on a booking which would've warranted taking him off early due to what happened against Chelsea.
With 3 minutes of regular time remaining, he then made two more puzzling changes: Martinez and Shaw off for Malacia and Fredricson.
I know those two are injury prone players but surely with such little time left, you keep them on? It's also not as if you're bringing a returning De Ligt and Maguire on for them as well.
The problem is, this isn't the first time we've had this discussion about Amorim and his changes. We have a lot to say when it comes to his starting lineups but the same can be said about his substitutions and overall in-game management.
Sometimes he does what he did on Friday night and make odd changes that makes the team worse or as in the games against Everton and West Ham, doesn't make enough changes to help us win the game.
I've also noticed that he seems to go more defensive as soon as we are a goal up. This usually happens quite early on in matches too.
United normally take their foot off the gas once they take the lead which allows the opposition to come at us. Casemiro was taken off with 30 minutes to go. That's a long time without a player that you might need.
The other thing is, you invite the pressure. Newcastle needed no second invitation to try and play more on the front-foot as in the second half, they were the better side. In fact, not long after Casemiro's substitution, they hit the bar. Had that had gone in, many would've questioned the manager for that change as well as feared the worst in terms of losing the match.
Why Amorim does this is something that is difficult to decipher. It may not have cost him in this game but that is an unnecessary risk that he takes far too regularly.
5. Don't Like Changes
This isn't necessarily to do with the substitutions but more with the formation.
I do want to discuss how the manager is actually going against who he is as a coach by changing the formation and giving in to what people want in more depth. That will be a separate post that will most likely happen after New Year's. Stay tuned 👀.
The start of the game saw Amorim use four at the back but in the second half, it went to I don't actually know what.
His starting XI was:
Lammens; Dalot, Heaven, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Ugarte; Dorgu, Mount, Cunha; Sesko.
At the end of the game, that lineup was:
Lammens; Yoro, Dalot, Heaven, Fredricson, Malacia; Fletcher, Ugarte; Cunha, Zirkzee.
I struggled to see what the lineup was in that second half tbh. I don't even know if it's correct or makes sense. That's kind of the point though.
This group of players as we know, are a lot more settled and used to a back four. They've played it for many years whereas despite using it for over 12 months, are still yet to truly grasp the 3-4-3. This is part of why we see such inconsistencies in terms of performances and results.
To then revert to a 4-3-3 after almost a year of not using it is not something that I like to see. This chopping and chanigng of the system in game is not ideal because I feel as though it adds unnecessary confusion.
The team then appeared out of sorts and all over the place once reverting to a different formation. Dorgu started off as a right-winger but ended the game on the left. Amorim had Dalot, Yoro, Heaven, Fredricson, Malacia and Dorgu on the same field. All of them young players (bar Dalot and Malacia), all haven't played with each other creating unfamiliarity, and all of them were defenders which is quite negative. United had just 33% possession by game's end.
Embarrassing.
I feel like as soon as Amorim gave in to changing his system, he went against who he is as a manager. He now has a problem in that playing a 4-3-3 seemed to work a lot better than his 3-4-3 when looking at the performances in either half. It sort of proved people right in that a formation change will get the performances and results we desire.
He CANNOT go back to his 3-4-3 after this game. He is sort of sabotaging himself.
Man Utd defeat Newcastle 1-0 to extend longest winning run on Boxing Day | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)