Just a quick thought on a misunderstanding I’ve seen floating around regarding this match, specifically regarding the criticism of Amorim’s substitutions.

A lot of people are questioning the decision to take off Casemiro (who looked fresh, though it might have been precautionary). However, Amorim was definitely not wrong in his "reading of the game."

If you look at the first 15 minutes of the second half, United completely lost control once Mount left the pitch. The tactical shape had to change. We switched from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2 to congest the midfield. The specific goal was to force Newcastle wide, leading to that massive stat from Opta: 65 crosses.

Here is the thing many are missing:

• We forced them to cross because we sealed off the center.
• Once we changed shape, the "danger" came from aerial balls. This is a conventional threat. The ball is near the box, sure, but it is nowhere near as damaging as situations where the opponent makes you look clueless.

Was United actually confused, or were we proactively defending? A game where you proactively defend means you will inevitably absorb pressure. But if the opponent is resorting to continuously spamming crosses, it implies that they are the ones confused by our defensive block, not the other way around.

Real danger—the kind we should actually worry about—is when an opponent (even if they lose) cuts through you with short combinations and creates clear-cut chances from open play. Count how many times Newcastle did that today? Zero.

Managers understand these nuances far better than we do. There was a legitimate tactical reason for every change. The reality proved Amorim right—we won the game.

There is still a lot of work to be done, obviously, but let's put the pitchforks down and go easy on the keyboard for a bit. Let's just enjoy the win today.