Sublime to ridiculous: The six Manchester United games which sum up Ruben Amorim's chaotic reign

Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United reign continues to flit from the sublime to the ridiculous, as evidenced once again by last night’s mesmerising 4-4 draw at home to Bournemouth.

United have conceded too many goals and squandered too many opportunities under the Portuguese and last night’s result denied them the chance to move into the Premier League’s top five.

Here,  DAZN News reporter Ross Heppenstall   looks at six thrilling United games which have summed up Amorim’s rocky tenure as he battles to keep his job and finally restore United as a serious force.

Manchester United 3-2 Bodo/Glimt (November 28, 2024)

This was Amorim's first home game in charge of United following his arrival from Sporting Club after the early-season sacking of Erik ten Hag.

The Europa League encounter proved a sign of things to come for the Red Devils under Amorim as they secured a thrilling win at a raucous Old Trafford.

Amorim, whose tenure had begun with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town four days earlier, saw United lead through Alejandro Garnacho after just 48 seconds.

The visitors hit back to lead 2-1 but Rasmus Hojlund equalised on the stroke of half-time and then bagged the winner five minutes after the break.

Amorim said afterwards: “It was special because I came from Portugal and half of the stadium doesn’t know me.

“I have done nothing for this club yet but the way they support me from the beginning made me feel I am not alone now, that I am one of them. I hope not to disappoint them.”

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Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 Manchester United (December 19, 2024)

United came off second-best in this Carabao Cup quarter-final 12 months ago as their defensive frailties under Amorim again showed.

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham, who were similarly known for their gung-ho approach, steamrollered their way into a 3-0 lead with Dominic Solanke’s brace sandwiching a goal by Dejan Kulusevski.

United hit back through Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo to make it 3-2 but Spurs added a fourth through Son Heung-min before Jonny Evans’ late consolation.

Amorim reflected: “If you look at all of the game, we were the best team but they were more clinical. We lost but the fight from the lads was really important for me.”

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Manchester United 5-4 Lyon (April 17, 2025)

To quote the former BBC commentator David Coleman’s catchphrase, this was “quite remarkable”.

United had drawn 2-2 in France in the first leg of this Europa League quarter-final and they found themselves 4-2 down in extra-time against 10-man Lyon at Old Trafford.

But three late, late goals – from Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire – turned the tie on its head and sent United through 7-6 on aggregate.

It was a night of incredible drama and Amorim, who saw Manuel Ugarte and Diogo Dalot put United into a 2-0 interval lead, was beside himself with emotion afterwards. He was not the only one.

The United boss said: “It was fun, it was hard, but here it’s never over. I felt that everything is possible.”

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Brentford 4-3 Manchester United (May 4, 2025)

Mason Mount gave United an early lead in the capital but Brentford proceeded to run amok, scoring four times to brutally expose the visitors’ defensive shortcomings.

Late strikes from Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo were no real consolation for Amorim, who saw defender Matthijs de Ligt forced off with a hamstring injury.

The result made it six Premier League games without a win for Amorim’s side, who by now had begun to prioritise the Europa League over their domestic campaign.

But they lost 1-0 to Tottenham in the final of that competition and finished 15th in the Premier League – their worst league placing for 50 years.

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Manchester United 3-2 Burnley (August 30, 2025)

This thrilling gave United their first win of the season at the fourth time of asking – and typically they did it the hard way.

United, who had been embarrassingly dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Grimsby three days earlier, led at the break through Josh Cullen’s own-goal.

Burnley hit back through Lyle Foster but Bryan Mbuemo restored United’s lead only for Jaidon Anthony to level again.

A late penalty, though, from Bruno Fernandes – in the seventh minute of added time –  gave Amorim a fraught victory.

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Manchester United 4-4 Bournemouth (December 15, 2025)

Last night’s game in many ways neatly encapsulated Amorim’s time at Old Trafford.

There was no shortage of attacking adventure and entertainment as United scored through Amad Diallo, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha.

But the defensive chaos which has come to characterise so much of Amorim’s reign was evident again as United shipped four goals to a Bournemouth side who almost pilfered the points late on.

Failure to win prevented United from climbing into the Premier League’s top five places and left Amorim to observe: “The way you try to win the games is so important for the fans.

“Of course they are desperate to win, but also, I feel that they are desperate to be inspired when they come to Old Trafford.

“Today was inspiring, I think, also because of Bournemouth. But in the end that’s the feeling of frustration of not winning the game.”

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