Ruben Amorim said after the final home game of the season that the choice is to move forward, or look back and fight each other, but history has lessons, and for Man Utd, it’s a warning.
The whole 2024/25 season for Manchester United was a bad one, and that’s putting it kindly.
The only saving grace until the final week of the season was the Europa League, but United fumbled it in a performance that was a microcosm of their whole season.
If they thought the problem that cost them the Europa League was heartbreaking, then Ruben Amorim must know that that problem is the reality for the entirety of the 2025/26 season.
Manchester United's Portuguese head coach Ruben Amorim gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Arsenal
Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
Ruben Amorim and Man Utd’s big problem in 2024/25
Amorim promised in the same speech that “good times are coming”, and he will be judged on that, but he will have to break a trend to do so.
Already, United are well on their way to fixing one big problem last season, which is the lack of goals.
Matheus Cunha and potentially Bryan Mbeumo will add proven goals and assists to an ailing team, and time on the training pitch should help the attack become fluid too.
However, what remains a burning question for 2025/26 and will only be answered at the end of the campaign is whether they have got over the hoodoo of facing English teams.
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Man Utd’s Europa League run was sparkling. It was full of goals, memorable moments, and players playing with confidence that disappeared in the league.
It wasn’t a coincidence that the “Premier League performance” was back in the Europa League as soon as they faced an English side.
Amorim stressed repeatedly that the difference in pace and physicality made European teams a comparatively easier opposition, and he was proven right at the worst possible moment in the final.
Right on cue, that loss in the final means that there’s no European safe haven for the club in 2025/26. The big problem of 2024/25 is the new reality of the entire 2025/26 season.
Getting over Premier League hoodoo in 2025/26
The final has ensured that United have no choice but to answer the biggest question they faced all season in 2024/25 – Can they win against English sides?
Amorim has already added physicality to the side with Ayden Heaven and Patrick Dorgu; now, Cunha and potentially Mbeumo will add Premier League pedigree.
That says that the Man Utd manager is fully aware of the challenge ahead, and that is to turn United’s fortunes in the league.
Even if United won the Europa League last season, that question wouldn’t have been answered, because it was only a one-off game.
However, the question is now more fierce than ever, not just because they lost, but because the performance was a copy of any game they played in the league.
The best way to overcome a challenge is to face it head-on. For United, there is no other choice next season. It’s sink or swim time.