Manchester United did the unthinkable after knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup away at the Emirates Stadium.
Despite being reduced to 10 men early in the second half, United showed unprecedented resilience to stop Arsenal from scoring in open play.
Arsenal were lucky to get a penalty in the second half after Kai Haverts went down in the box despite being the culprit by making contact with Harry Maguire.
United number two goalkeeper Altay Bayındır bravely stopped Martin Ødegaard’s shot to keep the game level, with United gaining more confidence to take the game to the end of extra time.
Amorim’s secret revealed
The biggest positive out of the game was how the team defended even after going down to 10 men, which would have been difficult for any side, especially away at home.
However, in the two weeks that United have not had midweek games, it looks like they have been able to work on their defensive structure, which has really improved.
Arsenal found it hard to break down United as even the defender knew exactly where to be, which was a huge sign of improvement from the United of old.
If this had been an Erik ten Hag side that went down to 10 men, the final result would have been totally different, as Arsenal would probably have ended the game with several goals.
However, Amorim has found a way to ensure that every player understands what they need to do, which has surprised even the opposition.
In the coming few games, it will be great to see if the newfound secret to unlock his team’s strength really works or if United used the spirit of big games to get results.
