Ruben Amorim is the 'trick' that caused Liverpool to lose again

For the first time since taking charge of MU, Ruben Amorim has achieved back-to-back victories in the Premier League. Notably, he did so by overcoming the defending champions Liverpool in a highly impressive way, prompting everyone to give him a round of applause.

How did Amorim 'trick' Klopp?

Before the ball kicked off in round 8 Premier League, Amorim made the opponent fully believe in what he was doing. His decision to change the starting lineup by leaving out Benjamin Sesko, despite the striker scoring two consecutive goals, completely surprised Klopp. Even the Liverpool manager admitted:"We have seen Sesko play in 3, 4, 5, or 6 recent matches, but when it came to Liverpool, MU changed their lineup. This is not the first time I have faced such a situation."

Though Liverpool had encountered this before, the way their defense performed against MU was truly disappointing. When asked about the reason for dropping Sesko, Amorim gave a very reasonable explanation: "Sometimes during difficult phases, you have to trust your instincts. That is the most important thing for a coach. The nature of the match can change how we approach it. By using Cunha centrally, I knew their defenders would find it harder to control him. If it was Sesko, they would have found it easier to predict.”

And then, Amorim’s tactical decision immediately paid off. Just two minutes in, Bryan Mbeumo scored the opening goal, while Liverpool struggled against MU’s dynamic attacking trio. Matheus Cunha, Mbeumo and Mason Mount played explosively, constantly pressuring Liverpool’s defense and delivering an effective performance. Their flexible movement combined with tireless runners like Diallo, Dalot, and Bruno Fernandes made Liverpool uneasy whenever they pushed forward.

Moreover, Amorim surprised the opponent by fielding Casemiro, despite earlier English media reports suggesting Ugarte would start. Everyone believed it because Casemiro had to join and play for Brazil’s national team, while Ugarte did not. In the end, Casemiro’s presence at the crucial moment helped MU’s midfield perform steadily and rarely lose ground to the opponent. Casemiro’s calmness, skill, and intelligence were truly the perfect solution for MU.

On the pitch, Casemiro played a key role in front of MU’s three-man defense. He made 2 out of 3 successful tackles 5 out of 7 ground duels won, 1 aerial duel, completed 16 out of 19 accurate passes (84%), and made 2 crucial clearances. Although he received a yellow card in the 57th minute and was substituted immediately after, there is no denying how important and influential Casemiro was in MU’s gameplay.

Klopp lost his way?

It’s strange but understandable that Klopp chose Isak as the highest forward instead of Ekitike, who had fully grasped the team's style and performed well before. Usually, when a team is struggling and form dips, coaches rarely experiment, but Klopp did the opposite. If you watched Isak’s previous games and then the match against Liverpool, many fans were disappointed with Klopp’s choice. This defeat marks Liverpool’s fourth consecutive loss and exposes a harsh reality: their record £130 million signing Isak is becoming a burden.

During the 72 minutes he played, Isak was almost ineffective against the clever and wise marking by MU’s central defensive trio. They took turns dealing with him. He appeared isolated, lacking energy, and was ineffective in front of goal. Throughout the match, the former Newcastle striker touched the ball only 19 times — the lowest among starters — and completed a mere 7 passes. The peak of disappointment was missing two clear chances. Once, he shot over the bar from a good position. Another time, in a one-on-one with goalkeeper Senne Lammens after a perfect assist from Ibrahima Konate, his finish failed to score. It’s hard to blame Isak for the second chance because Lammens was outstanding, but if Isak had been at his peak confidence, things might have been different.

Isak’s lackluster performance sharply contrasted with his substitute, Federico Chiesa. In just about 20 minutes at the end, Chiesa touched the ball more than Isak and provided the decisive assist for Cody Gakpo’s equalizer for Liverpool. To this day, people still wonder why Klopp left out a player with such high impact potential like Chiesa from the Champions League squad this season? Is Liverpool’s attack really that crowded, or is Klopp simply unable to use him properly? There may be many reasons, but after seeing Liverpool lose four straight matches across all competitions, doubts about Klopp’s true ability are understandable.

Liverpool had a record-breaking spending summer, but key areas were not reinforced properly. Losing Trent and having Robertson criticized for age, Klopp brought in two defenders who prefer attacking to defending. Unfortunately, they are not good at attacking either, forcing Klopp to drop a midfielder to right-back. The central defense lacks stability, and Joe Gomez is wasted on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Salah is aging and less effective but still plays.

Everyone was concerned about Liverpool’s "misguided" spending and now the consequences have arrived, and very quickly. However, we cannot yet declare Liverpool’s season a failure. The question is, when will Liverpool find joy again, or will they continue to sink into this crisis? Last season, Man City also faced a crisis and ended up empty-handed.