The pressure of a big week for Ruben Amorim is already telling

Considering Manchester United’s Premier League campaign has long been consigned to the bin of irrelevance, there was an unmistakable pressure in the air at the Vitality Stadium towards the end of the game against Bournemouth.

Ruben Amorim prowled his technical area, by turn imploring his players to alter positions, shaking his head, rubbing his fingers on his brow, and standing with his arms wide apart as a prolonged plea to perform as desired.

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When the valve was eased by Rasmus Hojlund diverting in Manuel Ugarte’s shot to claw United a point in the sixth minute of added time, Amorim barely broke stride, but his bench of players and staff rose up in celebration. His assistant Adelio Candido was especially demonstrative, so much so a staff member in the Bournemouth dugout took exception and fourth official Tim Robinson had to intervene.

There was no winning goal and even though all the result did was nudge United to 14th, the feverish finale spoke to the scale of the week ahead. “Follow, follow,” the travelling fans sang, “because United are going to Bilbao.”

Rasmus Hojlund got the equaliser for Manchester United (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

The Europa League semi-final on Thursday coloured this contest, from Amorim’s initial selection, to his substitutions, to the players’ positioning, all climaxing in a frenetic reshuffling that left several players with questions over their role.

Amorim called Hojlund over to the right channel to accommodate Chido Obi. He gave Bruno Fernandes detailed instructions. Leny Yoro got some pointers. Ugarte looked like he was playing a hybrid role between left centre-back and central midfield. Luke Shaw was either in the backline or wing-back. It had a freestyle feel as United flooded players forward following Evanilson’s red card on 70 minutes.

Afterwards, Amorim explained his guidance was so his team understood not to concede a counter in the chaos. “It’s just to adapt, you can see we change a lot of players, players in positions they’ve never played,” he said.

“It was not a tactical aspect, just to understand the players will have extra time, so if you suffer a goal in transition, you lose your head. You have 10 minutes more but if they score one goal in transition one-against-one could kill the game.”

United’s equaliser came from more formulaic methods: Fernandes feeding Shaw on the overlap, who squared for Ugarte, with his shot helped on its way by Hojlund. He let his emotions rip again after a six-game barren run for United.

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Leaving him on to get that goal will lift his spirits ahead of the trip to Athletic Club. “We wanted the win, but I needed that,” Hojlund posted online afterwards, an understandable sentiment if not the most advised thing to say out loud from the dressing room.

Amorim said: “I want to support my players, I was a player, sometimes you have difficult moments in a big club. I think it was a good moment for him but it’s just a goal. Let’s focus on Thursday.”

Shaw completed 90 minutes for the first time since the European Championship final with England. His last time doing so in a United shirt was at Wolves on February 1, 2024. This season, he had played 80 minutes in the Premier League before Bournemouth.

Amorim started him at left centre-back, a role that seems suited to the care required on his workload after a sequence of muscle injuries. But he pushed on in search of United’s goal.

“Was not the plan to have 90 minutes but you need to win games,” said Amorim of Shaw. “And you could feel that he was overloaded in that part of the field, he’s really good on crosses, he’s really good in the final third decision, he has a lot of quality.”

Shaw looked shattered at the end, as did Alejandro Garnacho and Hojlund, all with their hands on knees.

Garnacho and Shaw were spent by the final whistle (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Sir Jim Ratcliffe was in the stands to watch, heightening the sense of consequence. It was this time last year that he gave an interview after completing the London Marathon, emphasising the need for “grit” in both running and football.

At least the players stayed committed to their own finish line here. Hojlund’s goal at 95 minutes and 36 seconds is United’s latest equaliser away from home in the Premier League on record (since 2006-07).

United had an expected goals total of 2.52 compared to Bournemouth’s 0.53 and though that was shaped by Evanilson’s sending off, United did create chances when 11 against 11.

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Amorim was clearly frustrated they had gone behind via their own means when Andre Onana, Shaw, and Patrick Dorgu combined to turnover possession and Antoine Semenyo provided the finish against a club who have him on a list of potential attacking targets this summer — but not at Bournemouth’s £65million price tag.

Amorim clearly wanted to win the game to gain momentum going to Bilbao, selecting Casemiro, Maguire, and Kobbie Mainoo, but he then withdrew all three in the 65th minute to wrap them up.

No fresh injuries is perhaps the win United needed from the game.

(Top photo: Ruben Amorim by Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)

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