Ruben Amorim found a new piece of his Manchester United jigsaw with surprise tactical switch

They say life begins at 40, and for Ruben Amorim the first game of his fifth decade was one of the more enjoyable of his Manchester United tenure so far.

The day before his milestone birthday on Monday, he joked that after two months at Old Trafford, he felt more like a 50-year-old than a 40-year-old. This has become a demanding hot seat that ages everyone who sits in it, and Amorim was feeling the strain.

It felt like an omen that right next to FCSB's impressive National Arena was a giant building with a neon sign offering cardiovascular treatment. Coaching United is a stressful experience, watching them equally so. You worried that they would be queuing out of the door by midnight.

But on a night that could have been tricky, they turned in one of the more complete performances of the Amorim era. Piece-by-piece, he is beginning to find his best side, and in Bucharest, the jigsaw looks a little more complete. When the teamsheets landed, everyone expected Kobbie Mainoo to sit deep and Bruno Fernandes to play in front of him.

When the game kicked off, those roles were reversed, and as both players warmed to the task, they began to make United tick. With Lisandro Martinez growing in confidence and Mainoo and Fernandes dovetailing on the left side of midfield, that area of the pitch became crucial.

Mainoo has struggled to nail down a place under Amorim, and this window has opened the door to the possibility of the midfielder leaving. It remains plausible that Alejandro Garnacho could yet depart on Monday, but with the Argentine again producing an impressive second-half cameo, there must surely be a demand to find the money to reinvest elsewhere.

This game had more riding on it for the hosts, who began the night sitting in