Revealed: Man United’s troubling statistics off the ball since swapping Erik ten Hag for Ruben Amorim after new boss claimed his side will need to ‘run like dogs’ to become Premier League title contenders
- Statistics have shown a decline since Ruben Amorim took charge of Man United
- The 39-year-old boss has lost half of his league games since taking charge
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Recent statistics have painted a damning picture of Ruben Amorim’s Man United when they are out of possession.
After Erik ten Hag was sacked in October after leading the club to its worst start in the Premier League era, Amorim joined from Sporting Lisbon with the task of getting United back to their best.
The 39-year-old has immediately started to install his football philosophy and has proven that he is not shy about making big decisions, including leaving Marcus Rashford out of the final three matchday squads.
After a stuttering start to his new role, Amorim stressed that his team must improve their defensive intensity if they are to return to the top flight of English football.
‘If we want to win the Premier League we have to run like mad dogs. If not, we won’t do it,” he admitted.
‘Even with the best starting eleven in the world, without running they won’t win anything, that’s very clear. Without such a team it is impossible to win the Premier League.
Statistics have painted a damning picture of Ruben Amorim’s defensive rebuild at Man United
After his arrival, Amorim stressed that his team had to be intense without the ball to compete with the best in the Premier League
But analysis of his first six Premier League games in charge has revealed his philosophy at the back has yet to pay off
“I think the way we sprint back, the way we sprint forward, the way we fight, we have to be very clear to the team, this is the first point we have to address.”
| Reuben Amorim | Erik ten Hag | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Tackles | 22 |
| 10.2 | Interceptions | 11.3 |
| 4.2 | Ball possession won final 1/3 | 4.6 |
| 5.3 | High turnover | 9.2 |
| 182 | Busy | 187 |
| 44 | Press in the final third | 57 |
| 107.0 | Run miles | 108.5 |
| 10.7 | Shots faced | 11.7 |
| 4.2 | Shots on target | 3.8 |
| 1.7 | Goals awarded | 1.2 |
However, an in-depth investigation of Statistics performance has revealed that Amorim’s side still has a long way to go.
Quantitative analysis of Amorim’s six Premier League games has revealed that many of United’s stats without the ball are actually worse than in Ten Hag’s ill-fated start to the season.
Since the Portuguese took power in November, United’s pressure, mileage and interceptions per game are all lower than under the Dutchman.
Furthermore, United are currently conceding an average of 1.7 goals per game, the worst of any United manager in the Premier League.
While the above may make painful reading for United fans, there are signs that Amorim’s influence is starting to have an impact.
The club now scores more per match in the competition than they did this season under Ten Hag (1.7 vs 0.7), and on average faces fewer shots (10.7 vs 11.7).
United find themselves in the bottom half of the table at Christmas for the first time since 1989, going to Wolves on Boxing Day having lost half of Amorim’s six Premier League games in charge.
In many ways the club is performing worse than during Erik ten Hag’s ill-fated start to the season
United currently find themselves in the bottom half of the table at Christmas for the first time since 1989
The new head coach is confident he can turn things around and has a plan to take the club forward, but accepts he doesn’t have all the answers.
“If I knew, I would solve all the problems of this club, even this,” he said, pointing to the ceiling where a leak appeared during his press conference before the Wolves match.
‘I know what I’m going to do, it’s so clear to me. That’s why I feel so… I won’t say relaxed because I’m really frustrated, just like the fans, but I know what I have to do.
‘But then we have to solve some problems step by step and find an answer to everything. But it is a very difficult moment. We understand the fans and we will fight against them.”
