Since the arrival of Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, it’s fair to say that the club has racked up a mixed bag of results.
While the 4-0 romping of Everton and the 2-1 away win over Manchester City were certainly bright moments for the new Man United manager, Amorim has also suffered some bitter defeats, most recently the harrowing 3-0 loss at home to Bournemouth last weekend.
Given his topsy-turvy start to life at United, it becomes difficult to assess whether Amorim truly is a better fit than Erik ten Hag, who led the club to its worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign. But even though Amorim’s tenure so far has been a bit too brief to compare to Ten Hag’s fairly, there are some alarming statistics from the Portuguese manager’s early reign that give great insight into which manager truly seems to be a better fit.
Yesterday, the Daily Mail cited a Stats Perform report that compared Amorim’s and Ten Hag’s stats at United side-by-side.
While it might be tough to believe, United’s off-the-ball stats have been worse under Amorim than they had been under Ten Hag.
United have made 18 tackles per game on average under Amorim, compared to 22 under Ten Hag. The club averaged 10.2 interceptions, while under Ten Hag, this stat was 11.3.
Ten Hag’s high press also appeared to be more effective than Amorim’s, with the team averaging 4.6 possession wins in the final third per game compared to 4.2 under Amorim. Pressured in the final third under Ten Hag averaged 57, compared to 44 under Amorim.
Although the team has faced fewer shots (10.7) under Amorim than Ten Hag (11.7), it’s clear that they are struggling to perform defensively under the Portuguese manager. Perhaps the most harrowing stat is that, under Amorim, United are conceding 1.7 goals per match, the worst of any United manager in the Premier League.
While this could be due to the difficult adjustment to Amorim’s preferred 3-4-3 formation, the United fanbase will not have endless patience for the manager as he looks to tighten the team’s defence.
It could also be a result of numerous overpaid United players failing to live up to their price tags, consistently conceding from set pieces and making the same rookie errors time and again.
On the flip side, however, Amorim’s attacking lineup has vastly outperformed that of Ten Hag’s. Amorim’s United are scoring 1.7 goals per game, greatly improving on the 0.7 average of his predecessor.
This was a much-needed change, especially after United’s xG plummeted to -7.69 in the Premier League under Ten Hag, the worst of all 20 teams.
Overall, Amorim’s arrival at the club has been a net positive, with the Portuguese manager solving United’s long-standing crisis of a lack of goals.
After all, while a solid defence is important, it’s a team’s goalscoring ability that will lead them to victory, especially when facing the most formidable teams that can penetrate even the strongest defence.
Still, Amorim will need to improve the team’s fortunes at the back if he hopes to outperform Ten Hag and convince the club that he is the right man for the job, as attacking is only one-half of the sport. This might require a major recruitment drive, particularly as the same costly players keep making unforgivable errors at the back
Featured image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Mathew Cohen
A faithful Manchester United supporter, Mathew has worked as a football writer and analyst for SB Nation, FanSided, and now The Peoples Person. Mathew’s heroes include David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Sir Alex Ferguson, all of whom played their part in creating some special childhood memories.
