Manchester, England — A.S. Manchester United Manager, Ruben Amorim has seen victory Manchester City, armory, liverpool And chelseaBut he can feel one over newcastle united Boxing Day was the most satisfying day.
With bones weakened by injuries and international call-ups, Amorim’s makeshift team held out for a narrow-but-valuable 1-0 victory at Old Trafford.
It was sealed thanks to the brilliant blow of patrick dorgueThe left-back starts as a right winger. Due to Newcastle’s heavy pressure during the second half, the result came from defence. Leni Yoro, tyler fredrickson, ayden heaven And Tyrrell Malaysia,
A mix of youth and outcasts helped Man United keep their second clean sheet of the season, and United’s first since March 2022. Premier League without playing bruno fernandes,
, How much is each position really worth in the Premier League?
, Why is this the quietest Boxing Day the Premier League has ever seen?
, Rank: Top 50 female football players in the world 2025
Amorim changes his tactical set-up to start with a back four for the first time since arriving Sporting CP More than a year ago. It worked, especially in the first half, but the Portuguese coach insisted afterwards that he was most pleased with the will and determination shown by his players in that difficult moment.
“I’m really happy, especially in the second half,” Amorim said. “We all suffered together. You can say we defended well because we didn’t concede a goal, but they had chances. You need luck sometimes.”
“If we always have that spirit, we will win many matches. I think this is something we need to realise. We can win games with spirit and togetherness.”
Amorim wrote in his program notes before kick-off that there would be “no excuses” against Newcastle, but there is no escaping the fact that he is dealing with a growing list of problems.
Brian MbeumoAmad Diallo and Nausair Mazroui Are away in AFCON. Fernandes is missing with a hamstring injury. The players identified by Amorim as his replacements, kobi menuis also injured. Senior centre-backs are also like this matthijs de ligt And Harry Maguire,
The problems did not end here. mason mount Went off at half time and was replaced by the 18-year-old jack fletcherAnd lisandro martinezplaying a game for the first time since suffering a knee ligament injury in February, and luke shaw Both had to be withdrawn before full-time. it was also casemiro,
Summer frozen Malasia was introduced for the first time since January. Frederiksen, who has spent most of the season with the under-21s, was also thrown into the deep end.
However, Man United somehow survived.
Newcastle played their part and yet sene lamens Facing 16 shots, the Belgian goalkeeper did not have to make many saves. Only three attempts hit the target and the full-back Lewis Hall He came closest in the second half when he hit the crossbar.
There have now been only seven goals in nine away games and you can understand why Newcastle have only won once away from St James’ Park this season.
United managed to win with only 33% possession, their lowest in a league match ending with a win since defeating Manchester City in January 2023.
“It’s a tough job for us,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said. “I thought we had a real chance to win the game. The second half was much better but we didn’t create any great chances so we are extremely disappointed.
“Away from home we haven’t performed well in front of goal. You can argue that we should have scored something today, but we didn’t and that’s happened many times on the road.”
While Howe continues his efforts to cure travel sickness, United of Amorim is quietly continuing a series of protests. The results haven’t always favored it, but there have been positives in each of the last four games. against Aston Villa Last time, they couldn’t find a way to win.
That’s exactly what he did against Newcastle despite the adverse circumstances – and it will come as great relief to Amorim as he looks to move forward without several of his key players next month.
If nothing else, perhaps he has learned that he can now rely more on players like Dorgu, Havens and the returning Martínez. mattheus cunha Mbumo has also stepped up in the absence of fellow summer signing.
This is not Amorim’s plan for United, just his plan for now. And he can only hope that his weakened team can keep up the challenge for the European places until Mbeumo, Amad, De Ligt and, most importantly, Fernandes are ready to make their return.
Without him United dropped to fifth in the table and again indicated that Champions League football could be on offer if they could find the consistency to take the opportunities.
If they show the same fight in the rest of the season, it’s possible.
