Gary Neville said Ruben Amorim finally got his system “spot on” during Manchester United’s thrilling 4-4 draw with Bournemouth on Monday Night Football — but the head coach was left frustrated as his side “lost concentration” and surrendered the lead three times at Old Trafford.
Amorim appeared to move away from aspects of his usual 3-4-3 from kick-off and watched United produce more first-half shots than any Premier League side has managed in a single game this season. There had been question marks before the match about whether he would abandon the system altogether, particularly with players set to miss time because of the Africa Cup of Nations. Amorim had previously defended his preferred shape but said he would need tactical flexibility; against Bournemouth his side showed greater fluidity than seen to date.
Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher likened the early attacking display to the Manchester United sides of old under Sir Alex Ferguson. Neville observed: “The Manchester United defence is performing like a back four but there are times when it slips into a five. But Ruben Amorim has certainly done something different here tonight. Maybe it’s Leny Yoro is coming over towards Antoine Semenyo.”
Later in the second half, with United trailing 3-2, Amorim switched to a clear four-man defence — Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot as full-backs — with Amad Diallo and Matheus Cunha providing width around Bryan Mbeumo and substitute Benjamin Sesko up front. Neville praised the selection and balance: “We’ve been critical of Amorim for not having the right system and players on the pitch with the stubbornness for the system he plays, but in this period of the game, he’s got it spot on. The players you want on the pitch are there. Amad on the right, Mbeumo and Sesko up front, Cunha to the left, Mainoo and Fernandes as the midfield pair and then the back four. There’s no excuses now.”
Despite the improved attacking display, United’s inability to hold leads cost them again. Eli Kroupi Jr’s 84th-minute leveller meant United have dropped 10 points from winning positions this season. Amorim, who moved sixth in the table after the draw, said the performance felt different to recent home games but the result left a familiar frustration. “We lost the concentration and they scored two goals. But we managed to get back to the game. We scored two goals again and then we have to finish the game,” he said. “We need to think about not to go again, but to be calm and to close the game. There were a lot of good things, but a lot of things to work on. We are not winning games sometimes in the details because it’s a back four, back three, back five. It’s the details that we need to work, understand the momentum of the game. You need to be more clinical, because today against a very good team we create so many chances to win the game.”
Sky Sports News’ Dan Khan noted Amorim “set his team up with a more traditional four at the back and much of the time, it felt like a 4-4-2 against Bournemouth.” He added that Amad tucked in defensively to track an attacking full-back, Leny Yoro played at right-back while Mason Mount occupied the left of midfield, and Mbeumo and Cunha paired up front. Khan highlighted a concern for the coming month: the fluidity shown may be difficult to reproduce during AFCON, when Mbeumo and Amad will be absent. Benjamin Sesko or Joshua Zirkzee could replace Mbeumo up front, but who fills Amad’s role on the right is a key question. Khan also flagged Luke Shaw’s use at left-back in the second half — a role the club has managed carefully for fitness — which might give United more attacking threat on the left as Martinez approaches full match sharpness.
Carragher praised United’s attacking quality, especially in the first half. “It’s the best I’ve seen Manchester United play, certainly in the first half, under Amorim,” he said, describing the opening 25–30 minutes as reminiscent of the high-energy, attacking football of the Ferguson era: aggressive pressing, forward runs and quick transitions. However, he remained critical of the defensive issues. Amorim now has the seventh-worst clean sheet ratio among Premier League managers with at least 40 games, and Carragher pointed to the inexperience of some defenders contributing to costly mistakes. “They had a lot of young defenders out there tonight that didn’t help. I’ve been there, more often than not when you make a mistake as a young defender, it ends up in the back of your goal and that was the mistake tonight,” he said. Even so, Carragher felt United were the better team over the 90 minutes and that the performance offered the kind of sustained attacking pressure supporters hope to see: “Just wave after wave of attacks, counter-attacks, and almost the opposition feel like they’re getting sucked back into that box in front of the Stretford End.”
In summary, the match showcased a more flexible Amorim approach that delivered thrilling attacking displays, but recurring concentration lapses and defensive frailties meant United left two points behind despite multiple leads.