Early on March 17th Beijing time, it was the 29th round of the Premier League: Leicester City vs Manchester United. In the past, such a confrontation would have been a no - brainer, but now it's hard to say.
The newly - promoted Leicester City, deep in the relegation zone, is in desperate need of 3 points to maintain their slim hope of staying in the Premier League. Although the hope has long been faint, as long as there's a chance, they still have to fight for it with all their might.
For Manchester United, this season's Premier League is pretty much set. They don't need to worry about relegation, and the chance of qualifying for European competitions is long gone. It would be nice to improve their ranking, but it's not a big deal if they can't. Manchester United's current focus should be on winning the Europa League. After all, this is the only championship they can compete for this season. If they succeed, they'll be able to play in the Champions League next season.
As for Amorim, the important thing is to build his 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 system. He clearly stated that this is more important than winning championship trophies. There's nothing wrong with this statement. In the long run, building a system that can win games is the way to revival.
Van Nistelrooy and Amorim passed by each other at Old Trafford, and both are having a tough time now. Before the game, Leicester City had 4 wins, 5 draws and 19 losses in 28 games, accumulating 17 points. They were ranked second from the bottom in the Premier League table. Having played one game less, they were 11 points behind Wolves outside the relegation zone and 8 points ahead of Southampton at the bottom.
Manchester United had 9 wins, 7 draws and 12 losses in 28 games, accumulating 34 points, ranking 14th in the Premier League table. They had the same points as Tottenham in 13th, Everton in 15th and West Ham United in 16th, only differing in goal difference.
After Manchester United lost 1:2 to West Ham United away in the 9th round of the Premier League, Ten Hag was sacked, and assistant coach Van Nistelrooy became the interim manager. However, Manchester United didn't seem to give him a long - term chance and quickly appointed Amorim, the then manager of Sporting CP. At that time, Sporting CP was on a winning streak in the Primeira Liga and also had a good record in the Champions League, beating Manchester City 4:1 at home.
Van Nistelrooy led Manchester United in 4 games. They beat Leicester City 5:2 at home in the 4th round of the EFL Cup, defeated PAOK Thessaloniki 2:0 at home in the Europa League group stage, drew 1:1 with Chelsea at home in the 10th round of the Premier League, and thrashed Leicester City 3:0 at home in the 11th round. The results were quite good. Then Amorim officially took over. In his first game, they drew 1:1 with newly - promoted Ipswich Town away in the 12th round of the Premier League.
Van Nistelrooy quickly became the manager of Leicester City, with the task of leading the team to avoid relegation. In his first game, they beat West Ham United 3:1 at home, but then it was difficult to get a win. Leicester City has been stuck in the relegation zone for a long time.
In Amorim's current 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 formation, the starting positions of Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes in the attacking line are guaranteed. In this game, Hojlund started as the center - forward, and Eriksen was the left - winger. Bruno Fernandes assisted Hojlund and Garnacho to score goals respectively, and then scored a third goal himself. Manchester United won 3:0 against Leicester City.
In the last 14 league games, Leicester City under Van Nistelrooy's management lost 13 games. If it weren't for Southampton at the bottom, Leicester City would be at the bottom. As former famous strikers of Manchester United, on the last day of 2024, Rooney, who had led Plymouth Argyle to the bottom of the Championship, was sacked. How long can Van Nistelrooy hold on?
Amorim's 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 system has shown results, and Manchester United's recent form has also started to improve. They have remained unbeaten in the last 7 games in all competitions, with 3 wins and 4 draws.