This post is part of my Manchester United Match Reviews, focused on xG, shot quality, and the tactical moments that decided the game. Stats sources: FBref, SofaScore, WhoScored.
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Hey everyone,
I didn’t think it would happen now but I can’t say I didn’t see it coming.
We went to Elland Road with a patched-up XI, kept Leeds quiet for long spells, and created enough to win. The football didn’t sack him. The politics did.
And now Amorim’s gone. The frustration this morning isn’t just the 1–1 draw it’s the feeling we just watched a team of youngsters and backups go to a hostile stadium, control the game, and still see the era burn down.
It felt like a decision waiting for a headline. The data suggests the 3-4-3 was starting to click slowly. The headlines say it didn’t matter.
Let’s get into the autopsy of an era that ended in 14 months.
Table of Contents
Last poll (Leeds Preview): You lot smelled a trap. 75% voted: “It’s a trap: The atmosphere + injuries are too much.”
Also… a lot of you read these and never vote. I see you.
The match wasn’t a collapse - it swung and we hit back immediately.
The Match in Numbers
Results haven’t been good enough I’m not pretending otherwise. But with seven key players out, there were still signs the ideas are starting to land. This was always a transition season. The problem is United don’t do “transition” quietly.
Metric | Leeds United | Man United | The Quick Read |
xG | 0.90 | 1.58 | System worked. We created nearly double their quality. |
Possession | 45% | 55% | We controlled the ball in a hostile environment. |
Big Chances | 1 | 3 | We created enough to win. We finished like a team in crisis. |
Shots (On Target) | 11 (3) | 15 (2) | The killer stat. 15 attempts, only 2 tested the keeper. That is a 13% accuracy rate. |
Key Stats You Didn't See on TV
This season hasn’t been good enough. But Elland Road wasn’t a collapse it was a glimpse of something finally forming, even with half the spine missing. And that’s why the sacking feels so disconnected from the pitch. These numbers explain why the performance and the sacking don’t line up.
The Kids Were Protected
With De Ligt, Maguire, and Mazraoui all out, we played a backline featuring 19-year-old Ayden Heaven and 20-year-old Leny Yoro. The result? We conceded just 0.90 xG away from home.
Ayden Heaven: 5 tackles, 6 interceptions.
Leny Yoro: 96.2% pass accuracy. That is a system doing its job.
The Midfield Screen Worked
This system lives or dies on transition control. Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro turned Leeds’ counter game into dead ends.
Manuel Ugarte: 6 tackles, 2 interceptions.
Casemiro: 3 tackles, 6 interceptions. They combined for 17 defensive interventions. Leeds couldn't breathe through the middle.
The screen in front of the backline did its job - Leeds couldn’t run through us
The Attack Failed the Test
We won the chance-quality battle (1.58 xG) and created 3 big chances… and still only scored once. The openings were there; the execution wasn't.
Benjamin Sesko: 3 shots, 0 on target.
Access wasn’t the issue. Output was
Elland Road wasn’t proof the system failed. It was proof the system can work… if the players finish the chances it creates. Amorim didn’t lose because Leeds outplayed us. He lost because at Manchester United you can’t be blunt in the box and at war with the boardroom. Now it’s Fletcher. Same squad, same problems, same carousel.
The Tactical Breaking Point
The game was drawn on the pitch, but the era ended in the post-match presser.
While the data shows a team that was defensively sound, the friction backstage finally boiled over. The meeting between Amorim and Jason Wilcox regarding the system was the final nail. Amorim "blew up" when asked to be more flexible than his 3-4-3.
When the manager drew the line in the post game press conference by explicitly distinguishing between "manager" and "coach" he wasn't just talking to the press; he was firing back at Wilcox.
Amorim refused to be a "Head Coach" in the modern structure.
He is the 10th manager (including interims) to leave since Fergie.
"I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach... If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles... we need to change the club."
Player Ratings & Impact
Key performers based on the eye test and data.
Matheus Cunha (8.0)
Goal, 3 dribbles, 3 key passes… and the charts back the feeling that he was basically our entire ball progression. United had 19 progressive carries and Cunha led the team with 5 (4 of them from the left side). When you’re missing Bruno + Amad, that’s what “creative burden” looks like.
Cunha was the one who moved us up the pitch
Ayden Heaven (6.9)
Elland Road, derby energy, and we’re missing De Ligt/Maguire/Mazraoui. He finishes with 5 tackles and 6 interceptions, and the defensive-actions map shows United doing a ton of work in their own half (167 total defensive actions) without losing shape. That’s a kid holding up in a role that usually chews people up.
Benjamin Sesko (6.2)
3 shots. 0 on target. 0 key passes. And zoom out: United took 15 shots and only hit 2 on target as a team. When the performance says “should’ve won” and the score says “didn’t,” the No.9 ends up wearing it.
Final Thoughts
The tragedy of this weekend is that the performance was actually... solid.
We went to Elland Road without seven potential starters, controlled the xG battle (1.58 vs 0.90), and dominated the midfield duels. The "Amorim System" that Wilcox hated actually worked on Sunday.
But at Manchester United, you don't get credit for "almost," and you certainly don't survive telling the board to stay out of your lane.
Amorim won the football argument at Elland Road. He lost the politics argument at Old Trafford.
Now, we turn to Darren Fletcher. Here we go again.