Manchester United played as they can and as they should in their utterly thrilling 4-4 draw with Bournemouth. Monday's epic at Old Trafford was dubbed the game of the season by Jamie Carragher and everyone who made it into the Theatre Of Dreams got their money's worth, even at today's inflated prices. And yet in the cold light of day the result should concern United fans and the club's hierarchy.
It was United's wildest match since the 5-4 extra-time win over Lyon in the Europa League and, when Matheus Cunha pounced on the rebound to give them a 4-3 lead just two minutes after Bruno Fernandes' sizzling free-kick, the game looked set to go down as the best in Amorim's 13 months in charge.
This was the fearless football United fans had craved, the exact thing Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt were talking about when they declared just days earlier that Amorim was not the right man for the club because he played with a back three and brought on four defenders in the last home game against West Ham.
And it seemed no coincidence that United were playing with so much more bravery because they were using what to all intents and purposes was a back four.
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A throwback to the Fergie years
"It was almost a throwback to Alex Ferguson's Manchester United with attacking football," said Carragher on of the end-to-end drama. "It is the best I have seen Man United. For the majority of the game, they were absolutely fantastic. For the first time under Amorim – and first time in a long time – I felt like I was watching what Man Utd are supposed to be. Wave after wave attack…"
Gary Neville called it "absolute madness" and was pleased to see a United team "you can recognise". Amorim, meanwhile, felt he was watching the same United team he had watched from afar when growing up in Portugal and as a player. "If you follow the club like I follow the Premier League for so long, you [know you] have not just the duty to try to win the games.
"The way you try to win the games is so important for the fans. Of course they are desperate to win, but also, I feel that they are desperate to be inspired when they come to Old Trafford. Today was inspiring."
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Devastated and furious
But the end result, a 4-4 draw due to Junior Krupi's equaliser, was far from inspiring. And it might have been a defeat were it not for Senne Lammen's brilliant two saves from David Brooks. Bournemouth had failed to win any of their last six Premier League game and were 15th in the table at kick off.
Their two best forwards, Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson, were on long goal droughts, stretching as far back as early October and late August respectively. They found the net again thanks to United's naive defending.
At full-time, United's players looked far from inspired. They looked devastated, as if they had just lost a cup final rather than merely drawn a league game. And Bruno Fernandes, who had driven the frantic fightback and set up Casemiro's goal to make it seven goal involvements in his last four games, had a face of thunder.
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Sobering situation
Strip away the madness of Monday's match and United are in a sobering situation. They have taken just two points from their last three home games against Bournemouth, West Ham and Everton. A team with top-four ambitions like United need to be taking maximum points from such a set of fixtures.
Bournemouth had lost their previous three away games, West Ham are in the relegation zone and Everton had 10 men for 77 minutes of their 1-0 raid of Old Trafford, taking the lead after Idrissa Gueye had been sent off.
This was the fourth match in seven where United have squandered a lead, the third time in that sequence where they had let in a crucial goal later than the 80th minute. If they had just been able to hold onto their advantages against West Ham and Bournemouth alone, they would be fourth in the Premier League table. Instead they are sixth.
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Champions League is a must with rising debt
An optimist would say that they are just two points behind the top four and the coveted Champions League spots. A pessimist might instead point to how ridiculously tight this Premier League season is, with only eight points separating Chelsea in fourth and Brentford in 15th.
The door to the top four and Champions League football is wide open and all United need to do is walk through it. Instead, they keep on banging their head against it.
United have been absent from Europe's money-spinning top competition for two seasons and missing out once more is unthinkable, especially after the club posted record debt levels last week and are spending more than ever on a rolling credit facility to fund their transfers.