Man Utd 4-4 AFC Bournemouth: Madness at Old Trafford means Encouragement, or Concern for Ruben Amorim?

(Ash Donelon/Manchester United - Getty Images)

Well, that was just typical of the 25/26 Premier League season. Madness, absolute madness, and yes, it’s been said before, but this felt as close to an NBA game as we’ve seen in recent time.

Manchester United are a commodity that not even the sharpest of analysts can predict. They are simply unpredictable under Ruben Amorim, and whether that is a good or a bad sign, only time will tell.

One week they reach borderline crisis at Brentford, before securing a first Anfield win in almost a decade just a fortnight later, whilst Monday night’s chaos followed in that vein.

Amad Diallo’s opener affirmed United’s superiority over Bournemouth who could not cope with the hosts’ intensity in the first half hour, though when it seemed the away side would be swept aside, Antoine Semenyo’s tidy finish brought us all back to reality.

Amorim’s men were impressive, much improved from their previous home meetings with Everton and West Ham, but even Casemiro’s header that restored their lead before the break provided little certainty of an Old Trafford win at last.

Marcus Tavernier’s influential six minutes at the start of the second period rapidly changed the picture, and Bournemouth were ahead in a flash, encapsulating the thrilling uncertainty of the Premier League.

United, somehow, but rather expectedly, found themselves behind. They have rarely been convincing, but it was a performance that felt otherwise.

Tavernier (left), set up Evanilson (right), before his free-kick put Bournemouth in front. (Marc Atkins - Getty Images)

There was pre-match talk ramping up of a shock change in shape for the home side, under a manager who was once adamant he was not going to budge.

Such are the nuances and finer details in the modern game today, where set-ups in and out of possession are typically different and where full backs are either asked to tuck inside or provide width, but under Amorim it has hardly nudged.

His preferred 3-4-3 that saw great success in Portugal in the capital was immediately under the spotlight at Old Trafford, and it’s fair to say it has had heavy criticism in Amorim’s first 12 months.

A disastrous first six months, called the need for change surely? Not for the manager, who stuck with his guns after a first summer window under more stable stewardship, though an indifferent first half of this campaign has brought upon further questions rather than clarity.

What certainly felt different on Monday was the fluidity in the shape, never once settled or fixed, it was constantly changing and with great control, at least for the first half hour.

Bournemouth were out on their feet, and were denied a sniff, though perhaps where the greatest shift came from was the approach when going forward.

Sometimes it’s not about the system or shape, rather the mindset and application of a group who have been flat at Old Trafford in recent weeks.

Diallo’s early goal signified United’s intensity, who along with Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount, looked rampant.

Cunha (left), and Amad (right) both netted on Monday. (Richard Martin-Roberts/CameraSport - Getty Images)

The fervour at which United played at for much of the contest was thrilling, and something that has seriously been missed in a United side for some time and was seriously welcomed.

It was persistent, it was tenacious and gripping, symbolic with the great United teams gone by to constantly go forward, to be the aggressor, and even with the obvious flaws defensively, individual errors and visible issues that remain, it was something fans loved, and the neutral were thrilled by.

Bournemouth certainly played their part, and Andoni Iraola maintained his impressive unbeaten run at Old Trafford, but from a United and Amorim perspective, is this evolution, or false hope?