Manchester United defeated Sunderland in the Premier Leagueplaceholder image
Manchester United defeated Sunderland in the Premier League | Getty Images
The main talking points and highlights as Man Utd defeated Sunderland 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Ruben Amorim’s future
“I said to you the storm is coming... I want to tell you the good days are coming.” Ruben Amorim promised improvement after a debut campaign he labelled as ‘disastrous’, but the sunny days have been few and far between since then. Manchester was battered by wind and rain in the hours before their clash with Sunderland, though the granite grey clouds parted shortly before kick-off and made way for the reluctant northern sun.
The bright sunshine amid the bleak sky was an appropriate analogy for Amorim’s time at the club. There have been a few promising signs of optimism, but lately, they have been overshadowed by the negativity that has reached new levels in recent weeks. United’s performance against Sunderland was far from perfect, but it was a step in the right direction and evidence of the foundations that are being slowly built upon.
United’s home match with Sunderland marked his 50th in charge of the club; he should look forward to a 51st at Anfield after the October international break.
A safe pair of hands
It was clear changes were required after the defeat to Brentford a week ago. Ruben Amorim is still in charge; his formation will never change, so there were five changes to the line up instead. The decision to start Senne Lammens was the one that grabbed the biggest headlines. United paid £18.1 million to sign the Belgian goalkeeper on deadline day of the summer window, but he had to wait for his chance to make a debut as Altay Bayindir kept his role in the starting line up.
It is never easy to make your debut as a goalkeeper. You can’t get minutes from the bench, and in the case of United, you can’t be thrown into a Carabao Cup clash to be eased into action for your new club. The 23-year-old was thrown in at the deep end with an unenviable home clash, but performed well and looked assured in his role.
Lammens made a couple of routine stops and almost drew an ironic standing ovation when he confidently claimed a cross into the box. There was a shaky moment when he rushed off his line in the second half, but overall, it was a solid debut and an important first step towards becoming their new first-choice.
A deadly new partnership
If Ruben Amorim is to make his philosophy a success at Manchester United, his wing-backs will have to be some of his best players. They are the men who hold the key to the formation and must be able to thwart attacks at one end as well as they can carve them out at the other.
There still does not appear to be a standout choice on the left flank after Patrick Dorgu was dropped for the unconvincing Diogo Dalot, but on the other wing, there was huge promise from what the United head coach saw. Amad Diallo has not always looked the most natural fit in a wing-back role, but against Sunderland he looked back to his very best.
A key part of that was not only Amad’s own excellence but also the blossoming partnership with Bryan Mbeumo, which could end up being a very deadly one. The duo were able to interchange on the fly and torment the opposition defence, by doubling up when required and cutting back to whip crosses into the box and efforts at goal.
At a time when they have lacked an attacking threat, their new partnership could provide the solution.
Tougher tests await
Time will tell what the victory means for Ruben Amorim and Manchester United, but it should mean we get to see them together for a little longer at the very least. United sources were adamant they planned to stick with Amorim for the long-term, but the pressure would have been cranked up to unprecedented levels had they been comfortably beaten at home to a newly-promoted side.
A daunting trip to Anfield is next on the horizon, before a home clash with Brighton and visits to both Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur between the next international break. Those will be tougher tests and the more telling verdict of where United really are under their head coach.
Amorim will hope they have turned a corner. They could just be going around in circles. We should know soon.
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