Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim cannot see his first-team players walk back on one area of concern that he finally managed to ‘control’ at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim will be hopeful of seeing Manchester United make a strong start to the 2025-26 campaign after a poor 2024-25 Premier League season for the club.
United will embark on their pre-season campaign in Europe and the United States across July and August ahead of the new Premier League season at Old Trafford.
Amorim cannot afford a slow start next season after United’s Premier League fixture list revealed a tricky – and tough – run of matches to start the campaign.
United face Arsenal on the opening weekend of the 2025-26 Premier League season, with the Red Devils hosting the Gunners at Old Trafford on 17th August.
The Red Devils’ opening five Premier League fixtures next season include a trip to the Etihad to face Manchester City in September before hosting Chelsea at home.
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Manchester United players react to being defeated after the UEFA Europa League final football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao on May 21, 2025.
Photo by JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images
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Man Utd’s key stats from the 2024-25 Premier League season at Old Trafford were a real wake-up call for Ruben Amorim
Manchester United will have fewer matches in the upcoming campaign after the Red Devils failed to secure European football in the 2024-25 season at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils finished 15th in the Premier League table under United manager Ruben Amorim, who had arrived at the club from Sporting CP last November.
Amorim’s last chance of securing European football for the forthcoming season ended in May after United’s 1-0 Europa League final defeat to Tottenham in Bilbao.
United’s run to the Europa League final showed better form from the Red Devils last season, but the same can’t be said for Amorim’s men in the Premier League.
The Red Devils struggled against fellow English sides and Amorim had a real headache at one point with how vulnerable United were from set-pieces.
According to Opta Analyst in May, United were fourth out of the top five teams to concede the most from set-pieces as a whole in the 2024-25 campaign.
United would concede 27.7 per cent of times from set-pieces last season, with only Liverpool (28.1), Wolves (30.7) and Arsenal (38.7) holding worse stats in the area.
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Both Carlos Fernandes and Man Utd players need to prove that set-pieces are no longer a concern for Ruben Amorim
Ruben Amorim made the decision to put assistant manager Carlos Fernandes in charge of United’s set-pieces for defending instead of Andreas Georgson.
Andreas Georgson left his role as men’s first-team coach in May and went on to become assistant manager under Thomas Frank at Tottenham this summer.
The Spurs assistant manager was added to the United coaching staff last summer, but Amorim chose to axe him from the set-piece role in the 2024-25 season.
“The thinking is Carlos is responsible for set pieces, different stuff,” he said in December 2024, as per the Manchester Evening News.
“Andreas is also there to help. That’s it. That’s the reason.”
United’s vulnerability from set-pieces was short-lived in the Amorim era, but they showed the same problems under Erik ten Hag before the Dutchman was sacked.
It’s safe to say that Amorim’s second in command can’t escape the spotlight if the same cracks emerge early into the campaign after United managed to ‘fix’ it.
United players will also have their own part to play in the matter, including Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir not being on the receiving end of howlers.
Ultimately, Amorim cannot see a repeat of United’s stats from last season, with the Red Devils being one of the top five teams to concede the most from set-pieces.
Opta Analyst showed that United were third in the list for teams exposed from set-pieces last season, with the Red Devils conceding 15 times in the league alone.