Storm Amy had battered Manchester for a day and Storm Amorim for the best part of a year, but, drenched as he was by the teeming rain and buffeted by the winds, this was a sunnier day for Ruben Amorim in other respects. Perhaps he was delaying the inevitable rather than heralding a change of fortune, but there was respite in a 2-0 victory over Sunderland that was among Manchester United’s most dominant and emphatic of his troubled tenure.
It was a rare occasion when everything worked for Amorim. He made five changes after the wretched loss at Brentford. One of his summer signings, Benjamin Sesko, scored. Another, Senne Lammens, kept a clean sheet on his debut. Even when a penalty was given against Sesko, the decision was then rescinded. Even when the Belgian came out of his box, collided with Bruno Fernandes and missed the ball, Bertrand Traore did not capitalise and was cautioned for diving.
It could have been much worse, for Amorim and Lammens alike. The Stretford End sang the manager’s name. Amorim sensed he has his players’ backing, too. “I saw today and I know they want to do their best and I know they don’t want to change the coach all the time,” he said. “But like I said during this week, to be with the manager is, ‘I will kill myself to go in every transition’. That is what we need to show with actions.” Victory means Sir Jim Ratcliffe is less likely to finish Amorim off in the international break. A reckoning may have been postponed.
His record remains wretched but Amorim can beat clubs recently in the Championship; of his 10 league victories, five have come against promoted sides. Without that, it really would be relegation form. As it is, he now has 37 points from 34 league games.
But 10 from seven outings this term is a better return and United were conscious of the numbers that showed they have more threat this season. They were reflected in a vibrant attacking display. They had five attempts on target in the first 31 minutes, scoring with two and hitting the woodwork with a third, with Fernandes’ curler brilliantly tipped on to the post by Robin Roefs.
And if Old Trafford has a famously leaky roof, Sunderland’s Roefs spared his side further damage on their toughest outing since their return to the top flight. “The start of the season is really positive with 11 points, probably not expected by many people,” said manager Regis Le Bris. Sunderland can still look down on United in the table, but they were well beaten. They afforded their hosts an early reprieve when Traore miskicked in front of goal. Thereafter, United displayed ambition and incision.
And Amorim’s decisions paid off, even if opting to drop his £62.5m signing Matheus Cunha may have been an indictment of his own recruitment. But Mason Mount, a rare player who suits a 3-4-3 formation, was preferred and the breakthrough came from a combination of United’s No 10s. Mount controlled Bryan Mbeumo’s right-wing cross and dispatched a half-volley past Roefs.
Mbeumo impressed again. It helped that Amad Diallo returned from compassionate leave to offer dynamism from wing-back. “Every time he has the ball one against one he is giving us a lot of chances to score,” said Amorim. Amad and Mbeumo combined well on United’s right and Roefs parried a shot from each.
The other summer attacking addition may be acquiring momentum after a slow start. Sesko’s second goal in as many games was volleyed in after Nordi Mukiele flicked on Diogo Dalot’s long throw. “We are happy with him, he puts a lot of pressure on himself and that is not a bad thing,” said Amorim.
Sesko realised an ambition by scoring at Old Trafford for the first time. “My dream came true,” said the £73m man. “The moment I’ve dreamed about as a kid, because the atmosphere here is unbelievable.” But the atmosphere altered when Sunderland were first awarded a penalty, with the Slovenian suspected of kicking Trai Hume’s face, and then the decision was overturned.
To his credit, Le Bris did not complain, ruing instead their poor first 31 minutes. “It is a good lesson, when we don’t start properly, individually or collectively, you feel your team is really fragile,” he said.
It helped Lammens settle in as the £18m goalkeeper made a belated bow, a month after his arrival, with Altay Bayindir dropped. If Amorim may have waited too long to pick him, Sunderland did test him, particularly given the conditions. But the Belgian’s first save was to parry Granit Xhaka’s well-struck drive. He made a fine last-minute stop to deny Chemsdine Talbi. “He looks confident in the first game,” Amorim said. He helped earn United their first clean sheet of the season.
Sunderland were forced to bring on another centre-back, Dan Ballard, and change shape to 3-4-3. Amorim may have sensed he is a prophet, inspiring others to adopt his beloved system. They were more solid thereafter and Amorim admitted: “We didn’t play well in the second half.” But for United, this was a welcome rarity: a relatively routine win.
“There is no momentum with our team,” smiled Amorim, aware he has not won consecutive league matches games. Ten months ago, he had warned the storm was coming. For United, Storm Amorim goes on.
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