Amorim hasn’t even arrived at Man United yet and he’s already dealt his future rivals a serious blow

As so many of Ruben Amorim’s predecessors at Manchester United can attest, success and failure in the biggest managerial jobs is almost as much about narrative as it is about performances. Your team might have delivered a performance of aggressive unremarkability over the course of a season, but if you can turn the story into one of winning silverware in spite of yourself, they might let you hang around. Heck, good vibes and a PSG implosion has secured full time employment at Old Trafford.

If anyone wants to tame the great blob of an elite fanbase, they need to sell a story to go with their tactical plan. The guy that hung around in Lisbon a little while longer to give his new rivals a bloody nose: that’s a compelling prologue.

Amorim’s system isn’t fool proof and he won’t have players as explosive as Viktor Gyokores. His soon to be former players did show one trait that would serve Manchester United quite magnificently if Amorim can port it over. There was a fighting spirit to them, a refusal to be cowed when all the territory and opportunities were in City’s favor. When the pressure came they kept playing their way, occasionally to a fault, and when their moments came they flew en masse towards their opportunities.