The obvious problem with a vote of confidence is the need for one in the first place. Ruben Amorim survived his first crisis in the summer following Manchester United’s lowest Premier League finish. The worst start to a Premier League season has followed, prompting further questions about Amorim’s future.

For now he appears safe but the point per game he averages after 31 at the helm is clearly unsustainable. Amorim appears entangled in a mess of mixed messages. It’s not about formations. It’s not the players. It’s me, he says. I’m at fault. Honesty is at least the start of healing.

For the first time in the Pep Guardiola era, United were dominant in possession against City at the Etihad, just as they were against Arsenal at home in the season opener. Yet they lost both, and for the same

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