In the early hours of January 20th, Beijing time, Manchester United suffered a 1-3 defeat at home against Brighton in a key match of the 22nd round of the Premier League. At the final whistle, 39-year-old Manchester United manager Amorim sat silently on the bench with an ashen face, seemingly helpless about the current state of Manchester United. It is unknown whether the club's management regrets their decision to hire him at this moment.
During the game, Amorim stubbornly persisted with his 3-man defensive formation (3-4-2-1), which once again exposed problems in the team's backline. Despite Manchester United briefly equalizing through B fee's penalty and taking control of the field in the second half, they ultimately conceded two more goals due to defensive lapses and goalkeeper Onana's "butterfingers" gift. As a result, Manchester United suffered their third consecutive home defeat against Brighton over three seasons.
Since taking charge of Manchester United, Amorim has led the team in 15 matches with a dismal record of 5 wins, 3 draws, and 7 losses, including 6 defeats in the Premier League. Among the three managers who have coached Manchester United this season, Amorim has the most losses. His record is even worse than that of Ten Hag (4 wins, 6 draws, 4 losses). Since his appointment, only Southampton, Leicester City, and Tottenham have lost more games.
Although Amorim has led the team to impressive victories such as defeating Manchester City away, drawing with Liverpool away, and eliminating Arsenal with one less player in the FA Cup, he has failed to help Manchester United secure the points they should have against other teams.
After losing to Brighton, Amorim also set several disgraceful records for Manchester United. Firstly, with only 26 points after 22 rounds of the Premier League, it is their worst performance since the 1989-90 season. Secondly, Manchester United has lost six home games out of 12 league matches this season, the most since the 1893-94 season. Thirdly, with 10 losses in 22 league games this season, it is the highest number of defeats in a single season during the same period in the Premier League.
Currently, Manchester United has been left seven points behind Fulham, who are in tenth place on the leaderboard, sinking into the lower half of the table and becoming a true underdog. This is indeed a great shame for the former Premier League powerhouse.