Not even a boring and fairly eventless draw brings about a day of little drama for Manchester United, it seems.
It was a point gained for Leeds United in their quest to stay in the Premier League and two dropped for their rivals’ pursuit of European football, but well after full-time, another story emerged in the Elland Road media room which could suggest all is not well behind the scenes at Old Trafford.
While the game lacked entertainment, the bizarre press conference afterwards by Ruben Amorim brought a plot twist.
It was a scrappy and sloppy affair for 90 minutes, which didn’t really even have the blood and thunder feel this fixture is often built upon, and it ended in a draw after Matheus Cunha cancelled out Brenden Aaronson’s opener in the second half. The real bite and spark didn’t come until Amorim took centre stage.
It was the final few minutes of the media briefing which left more questions than answers. A hint at a power struggle and doubts over his future? Or was it simply just a man under pressure firing back at outside noise building yet again around his position at the club?
He walked out before those follow-up questions could come. It all came after a query about his downbeat demeanour during pre-match media duties on Friday and if his relationship had changed with the board.
“Guys, to stop with that, and I noticed that you receive selective information about everything,” said Amorim. “I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United.
“That is clear. I know that my name is not [Thomas] Tuchel, it’s not [Antonio] Conte, it’s not [Jose] Mourinho, but I’m the manager of Manchester United.
“It’s going to be like this for 18 months, or when the board decides to change. That was my point. I want to finish with that. I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy comes here to replace me.”
Amorim was announced as head coach when he arrived in England 14 months ago, yet here he continually referenced that he is the "manager" who has more roles than just coaching the team. He laboured the point, and then he implored others, such as the sporting director, Jason Wilcox, to do their job, and he will do his for 18 months, which is when his current contract expires.
“I just want to say that I’m going to be the manager of this team, not just the coach,” he added. “I was really clear on that. And that is going to finish in 18 months. And then everyone is going to move on. That was the deal. That is my job, not to be a coach.
“If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the criticism of everything, we need to change the club.
“I just want to say that I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach. Every department, the scouting department, the sports director, needs to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months and then we move on.”
It seemed a shot across the bows at accusations he has been told to change from his much-debated 3-4-2-1 formation and questioned by those above him in United’s sporting structure about the style of play.
But maybe also insinuating that he won’t be looking to extend his stay beyond his current contract. Whether that will be his decision will come down to results, which, despite a solid performance here that wasn’t spectacular, still need to improve.
The words from Amorim will only spark more debate on an afternoon that hurt their season ambitions, but, given their absentees, it was not really a day of note until he spoke.
This and an away trip to Burnley on Wednesday end a run of fixtures seen more favourable for United. The point took them to fifth briefly, which will possibly be enough for Champions League qualification, but with Manchester City and Arsenal to come later this month, they could soon slip down the table.
On another day, if Benjamin Sesko had shown a more ruthless streak in front of goal to match his impressive build-up play, this could have been a big win away at one of their big rivals.
Yet on the other hand, if United goalkeeper Senne Lammens didn’t produce a fine save to deny a spectacular overhead kick from Noah Okafor, it could easily have been a sixth defeat in the Premier League.
Cunha did show some good finishing with his equaliser after a smart pass from Joshua Zirkzee in the 65th minute.
The latter had been introduced immediately after Aaronson had fired into the net three minutes earlier, after slack defending from United, who had been previously resolute.
Zirkzee’s cameo, an improved performance from Manuel Ugarte and Cunha’s perseverance were the positives on a day of few of them for Amorim and United.
The caveat is the absence of captain Bruno Fernandes, their main creator, as well as the injured Mason Mount, which compounds the fact Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo are off representing their countries at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Yet United have won just three league games since the start of November in an 11-game run littered with draws and two defeats, one of which was against a ten-man Everton and the other after a decent display against a high-flying Aston Villa.
Leeds did play their part in a turgid game of football, which only started to flicker into some life after the hour mark, but never really caught fire.
Aaronson’s goal helped Leeds to move eight points clear of the bottom three, which is starting to look like a comfortable gap after an impressive run which has seen them remain unbeaten since defeat by City at the end of November. They’ve now picked up 11 points from a daunting December and turn of the year against Chelsea, Liverpool twice, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Sunderland and now their rivals from across the Pennines.
While Leeds boss Daniel Farke has steadied their ship in recent weeks, Amorim appeared to rock the boat on another episode of the soap opera which is Manchester United.
