There is a third reason that is less discussed.
Up to and including the 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth on December 22, Amorim changed the back three, the midfield pair, the wing-back pair and the inside forward pair between every single Premier League match.
When there is no time to train, efforts should be made for matches to mimic lab conditions, yet the United players have rarely been given the chance to discover rhythms or forge relationships. Until now.
United’s average number of changes has dropped from four per game to three since the Bournemouth defeat, while at Anfield they lined up with the same back five as the previous Premier League outing for the very first time under Amorim.
The gaps between Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez were reduced and United’s ability to defend crosses – a major concern over the past couple of months – notably improved.
Nine of the 16 Premier League goals United have conceded under Amorim (56%) have been from crosses, yet at Anfield Liverpool failed to complete a single open-play cross into the area (from 17 attempts) for only the second time this season.
Consistent team selections are surely the way forward.
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