Rúben Amorim’s first full season at Manchester United has already taken on a strange tone. Not catastrophic, not impressive, but slightly confusing. There are weeks when you see flashes of resilience and quality, and then there are others where the team looks stuck between identities. The football has felt uneven, which is normal for a manager in transition, but it has also felt directionless at times. It is only upon a closer inspection a quiet change can be noticed. The differences are substantial when you compare the first six matches with the five that followed. The results speak, of course, but the more interesting shift lies underneath, in the rhythms of their play and in the numbers that describe them. While the first six games felt like watching United trying to fit into borrowed clothes, the next stretch has given the players profiles they are better suited for. It is not a tactical reinvention, there’s been self-correction. 1. The early weeks: Stressed possession, chaot...

Alan Shearer finished his Premier League career with 260 goals. For context, that is three goals more than the combined tally of Ian Wright (113) and Robin Van Persie (144). Back in 2023, the former Newcastle United captain wrote a piece in The Athletic, assessing why and how strikers miss chances.  He expertly cited that missing is an integral part of the game for a forward and the only way is through - keep shooting despite failures (if we were to paraphrase). So how well does this advice hold up when tested against last season’s top scorers in the English top flight — the Haaland vs Salah vs Isak debate.