Despite being better than Liverpool, Man United still lack a Ruben Amorim victory

There is some cautious optimism for United after a third consecutive win that puts them above Liverpool but it is still cautious.

We also have more mail on Arsenal and Liverpool, although we’d particularly love to hear from Bournemouth and Sunderland fans.

Send your thoughts to theiditor@football365.com

Let the weapons fans brag…

… Because it would be very, very, very, very, very funny when the Spurs put them on the title.
Let us sit down

What is the problem with set pieces?

I honestly don’t understand why some fans are so upset that weapons are good at fragmentation? It’s a legitimate part of the game, and they should be recognized for the hard work they put in to become so deadly – if it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

I remember years ago John Nicholson wrote an article about how there were many ways to play football, and none of them were objectively the ‘right’ way. I think this was in response to everyone trying to play like Pep’s Barcelona and failing miserably, but the point still stands. In addition, it also plays some very easy on the eye football towards Arsenal.

Also, as a United fan, I started this season with the nagging feeling that it was either Liverpool, City or Arsenal for the title, with only a vaguely flexible option as such. Sure, Liverpool seem to have messed it up and City are hardly flying (though they’re within touching distance, watch it at Christmas), but Arsenal were the least bad (realistic) option from a United perspective.
Jack (falling in love with Mebemo too soon) Manchester

Liverpool fans get weirdly angry about flags

Should Arsenal win the title this year, and like many others I like them now, will they get rid of the people flapping behind the goals?

It’s not really befitting of a ‘big club’, bearing in mind that Bournemouth don’t even do it (no offence, none at the moment, before and after my team at the moment!), I can’t believe it has any positive effect on the atmosphere and deters some supporters’ views when goals are celebrated.

It seems pointless and makes me cringe when I watch the highlights.
A, LFC, Montreal

Now, man utd> Liverpool

I know Philip Correa was probably on a wind-up When he said Liverpool’s defeat to United was most unacceptable because we were such a poor side but I think they needed a dose of reality. I’m not going to argue whether United are a good team or not League table Currently united above Liverpool and we are the most placed (for now) of all the teams.

The basic tone of this email is proving a bit “I know we’re shit – but what do you make of that?”

You can stick Net cost Your ass. You’ve spent an absolute fortune this summer and you look – on current form – a worse team than United. You have lost four in a row, United have won four of their last five. I don’t know how long this lead will last (next week I guess) but for now it’s very real. You are dirt and you know you are.

However, I suspect Liverpool’s problems mostly come from A) Jeta’s death, b) the number of signings and their ability to gel quickly, c) their inability to sign a centre-back and d) Mo Salah’s poor form (great goal in mind at the weekend). By the end of the season we will have a clearer idea of ​​how Liverpool will fare under the slot in the medium term. God only knows how long the death of a friend and teammate will hurt the team.

Also, pointing fingers at him for clues is crazy. We know how Liverpool do business. He may have a veto but it is done by committee. Actic seems like a good business but the rest needs time. Even Isaac.

Still, continue this form to children. I am here for it.
Ashmundo (3 on the bounce for my team, no doubt followed by 3 defeats)

Read: Where will Liverpool finish in top 10 worst Premier League title defenses in 2025/26?

Man UTD still haven’t won a game in Ruben Amorim style

Defeating two bogey teams in the same week is certainly good reason to be excited. To shake off the hoodoo of not winning at Anfield for 10 years then getting a win against a team we’ve lost 6 of our last 7 to has rightly given United fans and hopefully the team a good lift. However, as a fairly strong Amorim advocate I think we need to be rhetorical for those who wanted to dismiss it.

OL, it’s not like they didn’t have a good reason. The team has been terrible at times and Amorim is certainly responsible for a part of that. It was not an unreasonable position to take in thinking that a change of manager was needed, given the solid evidence of the past year. Also, United still haven’t won a game in the way a manager would ideally like so it’s hard to point to these results and say ‘look how well it’s doing’.

Against Liverpool we had significantly less possession. 70% of shots were on target against Brighton. In both games we scored 6 goals with an xg of around 2.2.6. There was certainly an element of creating the chances we created and setting up to counter the opposition, both of which won’t work every time.

Having said that the basic attacking numbers for this season are really positive. First for shots on target, second for total shots attempted, and third for shots in the box. A non-penalty XG of 14.3 from 14 non-penalty goals shows that we are performing as expected and is supported by a shot conversion rate of 45% and goal conversion of 11% which are both fairly average and thus hopefully sustainable.

The defensive numbers still show plenty of room for improvement. Finishing 15th for goals and 16th for XG they look worrying but this is somewhat skewed by playing both City and Liverpool away from home (about 40% of that XGC total). Sitting seventh for total shots is probably a more reliable indicator of our defensive performance than it is about where we’ll end up.

While the team has looked better over the past few weeks, the style of play hasn’t changed significantly all season. Amorim may have decided to allow a bit of practice and training time to help but it looks like a lot of the improvement in attack has come from buying better attackers. There is still no set effective system to win games and the only wins have been achieved while dominating possession against Burnley who were too close for comfort anyway.

I’m cautiously optimistic for the rest of this season and look forward to the next one. Statistics, performance and confidence all trend upwards, slowly. Yet don’t despair if we look terrible again in the next game, it will be like that for a while yet, complex and inconsistent. Some good will in the bank with a few more points will be interesting to watch over the next set of games if Amorim reverts to his high possession model or sticks with an opponent specific approach.
Dave, Manchester (4 more wins by Christmas and I’m happy)

READ: Man United new arrivals raise some strange questions, but old familiar flaws remain

UTD referee decisions on man…

Less angry RSA Thinks the ref got it right by not stopping the game for McAllister’s head injury for which he received 4 stitches.

Not biased on every partner.
James Outram

… reading the RSA e-mail, less annoyed, makes me wonder if the sages at F365 can really explain the actual rules of football these days, as I myself as a lesser fan and frankly almost all pundits don’t understand what it is in certain situations and it’s not rubbish. That situation fails: Oh it’s touched on the ball.

Most famously we see this in goalkeepers closing in on incoming strikers. Certainly coverage and ver replays show that if said goalkeeper touches the ball in any way, that prevents them from any after effects. Certainly the reference to Taylor’s masterclass on Saturday is the same: there’s no doubt that Emad is not just spinning but hard enough that the defender is rubbing his shin, but because the ball probably landed in his root zone, no shit.

My only point is: this rule is not right? Just because you touch the ball, you don’t have carte blanche to kick a player? In Emad’s case, sure the defender may have touched the ball but it didn’t change course and Emad is now through with a shot on goal, if not taken out completely. Same with most goalie situations – maybe they touch it but the striker is now past them and still manages to get the ball if it flips in the air.
Ryan, Bermuda (a game win involving Taylor and Oliver should count for 6 points)

For centuries.The IFAB says ‘it should be emphasized that the ball (first) is not necessarily in play for a challenge to be ‘legal’. Personally I think it was a penalty vs Imad – EdJeez

Can someone explain the problems with the kirkies?

Milos Kerkes was a surprise signing for Liverpool after Bournemouth’s impressive season. He looked every inch the £50m player who could have locked in the left-back spot over the years.

Milos Kirkes has been very poor for Liverpool. He has contributed to a shaky Liverpool defense and has been a key weak point. He doesn’t look like a £50 million player.

Both these statements are true, in my mind. Others are widely shared without a clear following. Why? Why did he feel so good last year? Why don’t they look the same this year? What has changed? What is the difference between the setups at Bournemouth and Liverpool that have seen such a decline? Where the actual analysis other than declaring it terrible or a flop. I think it would have happened five years ago but the quick decision, online conversations etc. have made it impossible.

But it will be interesting! Am I missing it now? Where is the real decent investigation from what we are seeing? My eyes can tell me that he is struggling but why not, that is where pundits have to step in with expertise and analysis.
Kevin, Dublin

For centuries.The short answer is that they bought an attacking fullback and are not playing him as an attacking fullback. But we are open to hearing long explanations from Liverpool or Bournemouth fans.Jeez

Points for the weekend

Enjoyed it when Xhaka went through on goal with a lovely touch but then couldn’t finish and the guy in his team who was in the box and should have been allowed to hold his frustrations because he knew Xhaka was an absolute boss in the competition and Sunderland are lucky to have his respect.

Did this hard-wearing clothing brand make a jacket specifically for Parker?
Finlay x

Signing season so far?

A load of expensive strikers were signed in the summer but none of them can claim to be the signing of the season so far.

I think there’s a shout out to Grant Xhaka, Zubimandi, Kudos, even Jordan Blumen Henderson! Perhaps Lemmons, a Bournemouth player or even two going under the radar. Give us a top three mailboxer.
Peter, Andalusia