MU says goodbye to sleepy football

There are failures that hurt, dragging a collective deeper into crisis. But there are also failures that bring faith - however fragile - that the path to recovery is gradually opening.

Fans saw an improvement after MU lost 0-1 to Arsenal.

For Manchester United, the 0-1 loss to Arsenal in the opening round of the 2025/26 Premier League season on the evening of August 17th belonged to the second category. Because, under the sky of Old Trafford that day, the audience left the stadium not in the usual sadness, but in an optimistic mood, even somewhat excited.

What has changed? The answer lies in the legs and temperament of two new recruits, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.

A worthy alternative

When Ruben Amorim decided to ditch Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho in favour of Cunha and Mbeumo, many saw it as a bold move. But it brought an Old Trafford alive in a way rarely seen before. Gone were the hesitant touches and superficial attitudes, replaced by intensity, speed and hunger.

Cunha and Mbeumo had nine shots between them – as many as the entire Arsenal squad combined. They weren’t exactly sharp in the end, but their defence-splitting runs, daring press-breaks and energetic sprints gave the Red Devils fans the feeling they’d been waiting for for years: their team finally knew how to attack again.

Cunha made William Saliba, the famously calm centre-back, falter. Mbeumo made Riccardo Calafiori a burden on Arsenal's left wing, forcing David Raya to constantly show his talent. Every time the ball came to the feet of these two players, the Old Trafford stands would jump up, as if the trust that had been stolen for so long had suddenly been returned.

The statistics are not in Ruben Amorim’s favour. 15 defeats in 28 Premier League games make him the worst manager in that period since Paul Hart at Portsmouth in 2009. For any big club, that would be a sentence. But, paradoxically, the defeat to Arsenal has earned Amorim more support.

Cunha brings a new breeze to MU's playing style.

The reason is the style of play. People are starting to notice a more structured Manchester United, with identity rather than chaos. The three-at-the-back system - often mocked - is now working coherently, helping the team not crumble under pressure.

Amorim also frankly admitted: "Players like Cunha, like Bryan, just need one moment to make the whole stadium explode. The most important thing is that today we are no longer boring."

It was a sincere confession, and also a promise: MU may not have won, but they will no longer put the audience to sleep. After years of living in boredom, that promise alone was enough to inspire patience from the crowd.

Two contracts and one affirmation

Cunha and Mbeumo are not strangers. They have proven their ability in the Premier League: 15 goals for Wolves, 20 for Brentford. However, when wearing red, their value lies not only in the number of goals, but also in the charisma - something MU has lost since Sir Alex Ferguson left the chair.

In the last 11 seasons, there has been at least one Premier League club that has had a striker who has scored over 20 goals. Manchester United, a club that once boasted Van Nistelrooy, Rooney and Ronaldo, do not have a single player who meets that standard. So the £133 million spent on the pair is not just a transfer, but also a statement: The “Red Devils” are fed up with soulless strikers.

The comparison is even more stark when looking back at Hojlund - 21 consecutive goalless matches - or Garnacho, who was publicly criticised by his own manager for his poor training attitude. The fact that Hojlund was not even on the squad list against Arsenal shows a different United: ruthless enough to eliminate the useless, even if the price was paid in advance of £72 million.

Bryan Mbeumo also made his mark.

Manchester United still have many glaring problems, especially in goal. Altay Bayindir's mistake in the air reminded many people of André Onana's disaster last season. The defense is still fragile, the midfield is sometimes lacking cohesion. But with an attack that inspires fear, all the remaining shortcomings suddenly become less severe.

Twenty months after Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos took over, the signs of change were clear. Carrington was being renovated on schedule, Old Trafford under the blue sun was once again a stage for hope, and most importantly, the team was beginning to have a philosophy. It was not complete, not strong enough to win, but at least it was there after a decade of being lost.

No one celebrates a defeat, especially against an old rival. But there are also defeats that can be considered “glorious”, because they show that the darkness will not last forever. With Cunha and Mbeumo, Manchester United have just found a reason to hold their heads high, even though they left the pitch in defeat.

If football is a long journey, then sometimes today's defeat is the turning point for tomorrow's revival. And at Old Trafford, amid the thunderous applause, there was a belief that this fall - at least - had planted the seeds of hope for a new era.

Source: https://znews.vn/mu-tam-biet-loi-da-buon-ngu-post1577827.html