A year on from Ruben Amorim’s arrival Manchester United remain stuck in a rut of their own making

Unhappy anniversary, Ruben. A year to the day since Ruben Amorim ’s first game in charge of Manchester United came the latest illustration that his reign has been a faltering affair, where backward steps seem to outnumber strides forward. United’s best run under Amorim was followed by a 1-0 home defeat to 10-man Everton .

It could be described as a reality check. Amorim argued he did not need one. “These five weeks everyone is praising our evolution,” he said. “I'm always saying the same things: we are not even near what the moment we're supposed to be in this club.”

And yet, if Amorim was not getting carried away, the manner of the defeat both underlined some of United’s shortcomings and suggested some are inseparable from the manager and his style of play. In mitigation for the Portuguese, after he spent £200m on new forwards in the summer, two of that trio were absent, with neither Matheus Cunha nor Benjamin Sesko fit. Many of the miserable statistics predate their arrival but this was the eighth time in their last 16 home league games that United failed to score. When the onus is on them to set the tone or to break down a packed defence, they can fail.

Amorim’s indelible association with his beloved 3-4-3 means it is a non-negotiable; yet it arguably wasted United’s one-man advantage on Monday. When Everton ’s wingers Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye retreated so far they were auxiliary full-backs, and earned considerable praise from David Moyes for their defensive diligence, it meant United’s back three were marking a lone player, Thierno Barry. They would have been better off with another man in midfield.

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Everton keeper Jordan Pickford was called into action several times but United could not find a way through (PA Wire)

Starting with Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui meant Amorim began with his two least creative wing-backs; indeed the Moroccan’s expected assists in the Premier League this season remains on an inauspicious 0.00 while the Dane’s erratic finishing was apparent when it cost United an equaliser.

That United need Amad Diallo at wing-back for attacking incision on the flanks is clear. Minus Cunha and Sesko, he was pressed into service in the front three, which in turn reflects a lack of strength in depth. So did the sight of Joshua Zirkzee lumbering around up front. The Dutchman has now brought up 1,000 minutes since his last Premier League goal. It did not come in 2025.

His presence can nevertheless reflect the Old Trafford exodus. Of the three attacking arrivals, only Bryan Mbeumo can be called a success so far. But as three came in, four went out. Given the breakdown in Amorim’s relationships with Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho , it felt inevitable each would go. As Rasmus Hojlund went 21 games without a goal last season, as he suffered from Amorim’s appointment, perhaps he needed to: Amorim claimed on Friday it was “impossible” to ask the £64m signing to stay on the proviso he only played if Sesko was missing. Yet Hojlund, Garnacho and Rashford, who has been terrific for Barcelona , all offer the potential for more potency than Zirkzee.

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The mood at Old Trafford was distinctly glum (Getty Images)

Injuries were a reason why it felt that Amorim had few gamechangers on the bench against Everton . They had come from behind to claim a point in each of their two previous matches, but their overall record in second halves is miserable: they have won none, scored a mere eight times, while only Leeds and Wolves have a worse goal difference.

One factor is an overreliance on Casemiro , and his inability to complete 90 minutes. The drop-off to the alternatives is too big. Manuel Ugarte, Amorim has admitted, is struggling. Kobbie Mainoo is another, like Hojlund, whose form has disappeared under the Portuguese.

When United have lacked strength in depth in midfield all season, Monday may have been a preview of a time when they will not have it in attack, either: when Amad and Mbeumo go to the African Cup of Nations. A club that has spent around £900m in four years should not be feel short of players, and it is scarcely all Amorim’s fault if they do.

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Even a man down Everton were a more cohesive side (Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

But it was a warning. So, too, was the failure of nerve on a night when United could have gone fifth. “The way we see the results of the weekend, we should get inside the pitch with a different excitement,” Amorim said. And yet, had they won, they may have been in a false position, at least according to him. “We are not even near the point that we should be to fight for the best positions in the league,” he added.

A theme of recent weeks had been a rise in the standings, marked by improved results compared to last year. Yet now United have only taken two points from three from the games against Nottingham Forest, Tottenham and Everton , one fewer than their return in 2024-25. It is Crystal Palace, West Ham and Wolves next, fixtures which yielded a lone point last year.

The past, again, is the warning. “I feel afraid of this feeling of last season returning,” said Amorim. And a demoralising home defeat was a sign United are yet to consign last season to the past.