Amorim´s Man Utd in-tray: What does the new boss need to fix?

Ruben Amorim has now officially taken charge at Manchester United.

Appointed on November 1 in the wake of Erik ten Hag’s dismissal, Amorim had to serve out his final couple of games at Sporting CP.

And what a final week in charge it was. Amorim’s glittering spell with Sporting ended with a 4-2 victory at Braga on Sunday, their 11th win in as many Primeira Liga matches this campaign.

That win over his former club came after a magnificent 4-1 defeat of Manchester City in the Champions League, which left Sporting sitting second in the standings with 10 points from four matches, behind only Liverpool.

United, meanwhile, are certainly in a better place than they were when Ten Hag was sacked in late October, with interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy guiding them through four games without a defeat, and capping off his temporary spell in charge with a 3-0 win over Leicester City.

The Red Devils are, however, in 13th place in the Premier League, and Opta’s supercomputer hands them only a 13.2% chance of securing a top-six finish, so there is certainly work to do for Amorim.

That being said, United are only four points behind Chelsea, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and Brighton, who occupy third to sixth, and there is plenty of time left to turn the ship around.

So, what does the data say about Amorim’s time at Sporting, and what are the main issues he needs to fix at United?

A club legend

Amorim will go down as one of the greats in Sporting’s history, even if some fans have been left frustrated by his mid-season exit.

He leaves Sporting having taken charge of 231 games in all competitions, the most in the club’s history (on record).

Amorim won 164 of those matches, losing just 33 times, with his 71% win percentage also a club record-high mark. His team scored 510 goals, averaging 2.2 per game.

During Amorim’s time in charge, only Man City (127) won more matches than his Sporting team (122) across Europe’s top 10 leagues. That 77.2% win percentage is the best of any side in Europe’s top 10 divisions.

Get United’s attack back on track

United overperformed their expected goals in Sunday’s win over Leicester, netting three times from chances worthy of only 0.76 xG.

Yet that has been in stark contrast to the general trend for United this term.

United have the seventh-highest xG in the league (17.52), yet they have only scored 12 goals, the fourth-lowest total in the competition. That 5.52 xG underperformance is the second-biggest negative differential between xG and goals scored in the division, with only Crystal Palace (-5.59) having a worse underperformance.

The Red Devils’ big chance conversion rate of 18.75% (6/32) is also the worst in the Premier League, and no team has squandered as many such opportunities (26).

Amorim’s first task, then, will be to get the team not only clicking going forward but converting more of the chances they do create.

The omens are good based on Sporting’s season so far. They have netted 39 times in 11 Primeira Liga matches in 2024-25, outperforming their league-high 30.36 xG. That 8.64 overperformance is the highest in Portugal’s top flight.

Only Braga (55.17%) boast a greater big-chance conversion rate than Sporting (50.94% – 27/53), who have had 257 shots, an average of 23 per match.

Of course, Sporting do have Europe’s in-form forward, Victor Gyokeres, leading the charge. He has netted 16 Primeira Liga goals this term, which is the highest total of any player across Europe’s top five leagues, while of players to net at least five times, the Swede has the best minutes per goal ratio (61).

In contrast, United trio Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have just two league goals between them this season.

While he may be missing the elite-level sharpshooter that would help turn the tide quickly at United, Amorim will at least have one of Europe’s best playmakers to call on.

Just how Bruno Fernandes slots into Amorim’s preferred 3-4-3 system remains to be seen, but ensuring the Portugal international is able to supply a consistent chain of chances is crucial.

Fernandes has not had much luck in front of goal so far in 2024-25. He has had 34 shots in the league but scored only twice. Only Eberechi Eze (37) has had more shots but scored fewer goals in the top-flight this season.

100 – Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in 100 goals in 170 appearances for Manchester United in the Premier League, reaching this milestone with just one more appearance than Cristiano Ronaldo (169) had upon doing so. Century. pic.twitter.com/iJX1o3HVSW

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 10, 2024

But creatively, you know what you are getting from Fernandes, whose tally of 45 chances created ranks behind only Barcelona’s Raphinha (55) among players in Europe’s big five leagues in all competitions this term, with Mohamed Salah (10) the only Premier League player to have provided more assists than Fernandes’ seven.

If Amorim can ensure Fernandes has the space to pick the passes, then it will be a case of fine-tuning his forwards or, perhaps, splashing the cash in January – Gyokeres has already been heavily linked.

No more leaks

The roof hasn’t been the only thing leaking as of late at Old Trafford. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, United have recorded an expected goals against (xGA) of 137.8, which ranks as the sixth-highest total in the Premier League.

United have at least overperformed, conceding 113 times, but under Ten Hag, they allowed opposing teams to have far too many chances.

In contrast, Amorim’s Sporting had the lowest xGA of any ever-present Primeira Liga side during his four-and-a-half-year stint at the helm (119.7 xGA across 158 league matches).

While United’s per-game xGA since the start of 2022-23 stands at 1.58, Sporting’s under Amorim was just 0.75.

Amorin has hinted he will stick with the back three system that has served him so well during his time in Lisbon, and while getting United’s attack to click into gear should be his first port of call, ensuring there is more defensive organisation is crucial.

Setting the stall out

A key to success for Amorim will be transferring his approach across to United.

Off the ball, Sporting have looked to press high this season, with their 9.4 passes allowed per defensive action (a metric that measures the intensity of a team’s press, where the lower the number, the more intense the pressing) the second-lowest in the Primeira Liga this season.

That is in contrast to United’s 11.9 for 2024-25, which ranks joint 10th in the Premier League.

United have forced more high turnovers (nine per game as opposed to Sporting’s 8.3), though Sporting have been better at translating those situations into shots (1.6 per match, compared to United’s 1.8).

In possession, Sporting have had 204 sequences involving at least 10 passes this season. United, on the other hand, have had just 136, so getting the Red Devils to show more composure and patience on the ball will be a key factor for Amorim as he looks to right the wrongs of Ten Hag’s tenure.