Manchester United's defeat was due to Ruben Amorim's scoring tactics.

MANCHESTER, FRIDAY – Manchester United extended their winless streak every time they faced West Ham. The "Red Devils" had to settle for a 1-1 draw despite initially taking the lead. Manager Ruben Amorim's penchant for employing a score-based tactic ultimately fell apart due to the lack of hunger from the MU players.

If some Premier League managers use ball possession instruments to control the course of the match, Amorim takes a somewhat different approach. The Portuguese manager tends to use a score-based game to dictate the way the opponent plays.

The concept of a scoring game refers to MU's efforts to score as early as possible. This effort is marked by the ambition of the "Red Devils" players to start the match quickly in pursuit of an early goal. Typically, Amorim will instruct his players to exploit the spaces that are weaknesses of the opponent. The attacks are then focused on that area with the hope of creating a goal.

There are times when the opposing team defends very deeply and tightly to prevent MU from scoring quickly. However, MU does not lose its wits by attempting to steal goals through set-piece executions or by being resilient in responding to crosses. When the effort to score first succeeds, the opponent is likely to be encouraged to push forward in order to catch up.

That is the momentum that Amorim has been waiting for. When the opponent moves forward, a significant space is created between the defenders and the goalkeeper. This situation provides Manchester United with numerous opportunities to double their advantage. While other managers utilize ball possession to control the match, Amorim prioritizes a scoring game that ultimately affects the opponent's psychology, allowing him to capitalize on that.

Facing West Ham at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, on Friday (5/12/2025) early morning WIB, the scoring tactic ultimately failed. MU did manage to take the lead first with a goal from Diogo Dalot in the 58th minute. However, West Ham was able to equalize thanks to a goal from Soungoutou Magassa at the end of the match.

"We should have won the game when we scored the first goal," Amorim said after the match, as quoted by Sky Sports.

The essence of Amorim's scoring tactic is to maintain the intensity of the attack after taking an early lead. Ironically, that is the very action that Bruno Fernandes and his teammates failed to execute on the field.

Clearly disappointed. We need to control the game more, especially when playing at Old Trafford. Unfortunately, we could not maintain the result.

After taking the lead, MU played very passively as if they were already satisfied. However, this performance was also influenced by Amorim's decision to substitute three of his players after gaining the advantage. About 10 minutes after Dalot's goal, Amorim brought on Patrick Dorgu, Manuel Ugarte, and Mason Mount.

The player substitutions became a blunder due to the quality of Manchester United's substitutes not being on par with the main players. Amorim had previously stated that Dorgu and Ugarte are still struggling to improve their performance this season.

In addition, MU struggled to maintain or extend their lead as the players appeared to be starting to tire, causing a decline in their game intensity. This was evident when Jarrod Bowen was able to freely head the ball from a corner kick that was blocked by Noussair Mazraoui. The loose ball was then seized by Magassa.

"Clearly disappointed. We need to control the game more, especially when playing at Old Trafford. Unfortunately, we could not maintain the result. In the end, we must reflect on ourselves. This is more due to our own mistakes," said Dalot.

Meanwhile, Bowen appreciated the spirit of his team, which did not wane despite conceding a goal first. "We earned (one) point that we deserved. You should not be too discouraged when trailing by one goal. We have that belief, and you can see it," he said.

The failure of MU to maintain their lead until the end has drawn criticism from their former player, Roy Keane. He accused the MU players of underestimating West Ham by easing the tempo of the game after taking the lead.

Keane lamented the draw. According to him, MU should have been able to do much against West Ham, who are struggling to distance themselves from the relegation zone. "After they scored, they actually slowed down their tempo against a team that is in the bottom three of the standings," said Keane.

"They are only torturing themselves. Every time I watch this Manchester United team, they disappoint. They are not clinical, they are not ruthless enough to get the job done," he added.

Undoubtedly, this draw feels like a significant defeat for MU. If they had successfully secured three points from West Ham, MU would have occupied the fifth position or a spot in the Champions League zone. In reality, the acquisition of just one point has caused MU to drop in rank from seventh to eighth position.