Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim says he “loves” working with his players on his renowned 3-4-2-1 formation and has found contrasting characters Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo “really fun” in the dressing room since their high-profile arrivals.
Amorim has repeatedly defended his preferred tactics since joining United in November 2024 and has a chance to implement them with new players this season, including £62.5 million Cunha and £71m Mbeumo in attack.
“I’m not Manchester United coach because of the fame and because it’s good,” Amorim told NBC Sports after his side beat West Ham 2-1 in New Jersey on Saturday.
“I really have an idea and I love training my players. I truly believe in my work – for me, that is the fun part. We have an idea and we try to use it every day.”
A classic @B_Fernandes8 strike 👌
🤳 @Snapdragon x #ShotOnSnapdragon
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 27, 2025
Man United vs West Ham: Bruno Fernandes double
Bruno Fernandes had already set up Rasmus Hojlund for a shot against the post by the time United’s captain scored a fifth-minute penalty to open the scoring against the Hammers.
The Portugal international curled in a second from outside the box seven minutes after the restart and Jarrod Bowen charged inside the box and fired in 11 minutes later to pull one back.
Cunha started but Mbeumo was not involved as Brentford’s 20-goal top scorer last season builds his fitness.
“He’s a top player who can play in different positions,” Amorim said of Cunha, who produced 17 goals and six assists in all competitions for Wolves in 2024/25.
“He’s really loud in the dressing room – he’s Brazilian – and I love that from him. He’s completely different from Bryan; Bryan is the opposite. It’s really fun to combine all the characters and mentalities.”
Fernandes ‘loses a bit of focus’ – Amorim
Amorim reflected on the difficult start to his tenure as United finished 15th last season and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham
“We have to give confidence to all the players to play,” he said. “We have to use all the mistakes we made over six months to start in a different way.
“It was really tough on everyone – all the changes to the staff, inside the club. But we needed that.
“Now there are more players to help [Fernandes] lead the group. He leads by example – he works really hard, is always available and sometimes plays with pain.
“The problem is that sometimes he gets frustrated a loses a bit of focus on his job. He’s a leader but he needs help and he’s going to have help.”
Man United vs West Ham teams: When will Mbeumo play?
Forward Joshua Zirkzee missed the game with a “small issue”, as did wideman Noussair Mazraoui with a knock.
Cameroon international Mbeumo is expected to miss the meeting with Bournemouth in Chicago (02:30 BST Thursday / 19:30 ET Wednesday / 16:30 PT Wednesday) but could feature against Everton in Atlanta on Sunday (22:00 BST / 17:00 ET / 14:00 PT).
Man United vs West Ham: Bayindir; Yoro (Fredricson 66), De Ligt (Maguire 66), Heaven (Shaw 66); Amad (Dalot 66), Mainoo (Collyer 66), Ugarte (Casemiro 66), Dorgu (Leon 66); Fernandes (c) (J. Fletcher 66), Cunha (Mount 66); Hojlund (Obi 66)
Substitutes not used: Heaton, Munro, Kone, Mantato, Williams
West Ham vs Man United: Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo (Mavropanos 71), Kilman, Aguerd (Scarles 79), Diouf (Guilherme 79); Ward-Prowse (Irving 79), Soucek (Fearon 79), Rodriguez (Potts 72); Bowen, Fullkrug (Paqueta 72)
Substitutes not used: Foderingham, Cornet, Walker-Peters, Casey, Marshall, Kante, Golambeckis, Orford
Man United pre season fixtures 2025/26
July 31 vs Bournemouth (Chicago)
August 3 vs Everton (Atlanta)
August 9 vs Fiorentina (H)
When does Man United’s 2025/26 Premier League season start?
The first round of Premier League matches in 2025/26 will be on the weekend of August 16 2025, including United’s visit from Arsenal on Sunday, August 17 at 16:30 BST.
The game against the 2024/25 runners-up is being shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Premier League, Ultra and Main Event.
The last round of matches this season will all start at the same time on May 24 2026. No rounds will take place within 60 hours of each other and there will be no fixture on December 24.
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2025-07-27 09:46:26
