Ruben Amorim: Manchester United Will Gain More Insights From Southampton Match Than Previous Games

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Ruben Amorim believes Manchester United's upcoming match against Southampton will provide more insights into his team than their recent encounters with Liverpool and Arsenal. United, who have lost their last three home league games, face the Premier League's bottom club next. Their last four-game losing streak at Old Trafford in the league was in February 1934 when they were a second-tier club.

Despite recent struggles at home, United have shown resilience on the road. They managed a 2-2 draw against Liverpool after trailing 2-1 and knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup on penalties following a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium. In these matches, United played defensively, recording only 47.1% possession at Anfield and just 29.6% at the Emirates, where they played with ten men for about an hour after Diogo Dalot's red card.

United have found it challenging to dominate games when expected to control possession. They have won only one of six league matches where they had over 57% possession, drawing two and losing three. Amorim highlighted this issue during Wednesday's pre-match press conference, stating that understanding how to build play with the ball is crucial for a big team.

"I think tomorrow will tell us more about our team than the last two games," Amorim said. "The most difficult thing to train in one team is the way you build with the ball and, in the final third, the way you create situations."

Amorim acknowledged United's struggle to score goals consistently. Last season, his Sporting CP side ranked third for goals scored across Europe's top leagues with 96 goals, while United under Erik ten Hag ranked joint-52nd with 57 goals. This season, United have taken a higher percentage of shots from outside the box than any other Premier League team (37%), indicating difficulties in breaking down defences.

Amorim emphasised that improving in the final third is essential for competing for major honours. He warned that relying solely on counterattacking won't suffice in most games. "We didn't spend a lot of time during these games in the last third with the ball – we did it against Nottingham Forest, but we need to improve in that part of the game," he noted.

Future Focus

The manager understands that playing defensively against teams like Liverpool and Arsenal may be acceptable now but insists on developing a different style for future success. "Against Arsenal we waited for the opportunity but in the future, you cannot play like that," Amorim stated. He stressed that building a new style will take time but remains a priority moving forward.

Amorim is determined to enhance United's attacking capabilities and believes focusing on this aspect will be crucial for their long-term success.