Ruben Amorim was under extreme pressure heading into the Premier League game against Sunderland due to the team’s poor start under him.
Only two wins this season represented the club’s worst start in 33 years, and the media noise surrounding his potential sacking was doing little to alleviate the stress.
Most of the criticism stemmed from the fact that the ex-Sporting CP boss was utilising a flawed system which did not bring out the best from the players at his disposal.
But on Saturday, his team produced the goods thanks to Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko’s first-half strikes, while debutant Senne Lammens impressed in goal.
Ruben Amorim tactics worked
And former Tottenham Hotspur boss Tim Sherwood, who has been vocal when it comes to critiquing the United head coach, praised the way Amorim’s system worked against the Black Cats.
“I keep saying it, systems don’t win games. Players win games. We’ve talked a lot about the systems at Man Utd, but today Amorim is getting the best out of the individuals on the pitch.
“A very good performance” 👏
Tim Sherwood praises Man United after they beat Sunderland 2-0 to reduce pressure on head coach Ruben Amorim in his 50th game in charge 🔴 pic.twitter.com/97savtKuCL
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 4, 2025
“It’s largely going direct to a centre forward who wants the ball, and getting players around him to help him,” he told Sky Sports.
He pointed out that the United head coach’s decision to play direct to Sesko worked a treat, with the Slovenian justifying INEOS’ decision to spend big on him in the summer.
Thanks to Sesko
United decided to play direct to the former RB Leipzig hitman with Lammens usually going long, with Sesko expertly flicking balls on, while also holding it up at times and linking up impressively with his teammates.
“Man United are playing direct to Sesko. I’ve never seen him have so many touches, which is pleasing to see. They’re not asking Lemmens to play out – he’s kicking it long – and it’s paying off.”
When you have a striker who is 6 feet 5 inches, it pays to use his strengths and United did just that on Saturday at Old Trafford.
That meant three successive home league wins and a first clean-sheet of the season. Not a bad way to head into the next game against fierce rivals Liverpool.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
