With the gloom enveloping the Theatre of Dreams of late the three points were clearly welcomed; however, the Red Devils need a sustained period of success in order for the United board to remain convinced that the Portuguese is still the right man for the job.
Amorim won't change his way of working
Depending on which side of the fence one sits, Amorim's steadfast refusal to do anything differently to that which he believes is right is either incredibly refreshing or incredibly stupid. The truth is his stance is probably somewhere in the middle.
No one other than the manager at a football club should have the right to dictate the formation or personnel chosen, even if ultimately the board should author the general direction of travel for the football club.
It's often forgotten that Amorim has been in the job for less than a year, hasn't really been backed in the transfer windows as he might've expected, and is still trying to get the best out of players that arguably he wouldn't have signed.
Herein lies the crux of the issue. He is still trying to mop up Erik ten Hag's mess.
Results haven't been good enough
The problem for the 40-year-old is that he is managing one of the premier football clubs and brands in world football, and their long-suffering supporters are fed up of being starved of success for so long.
When all is said and done, Amorim will continue to be judged on results which, to date, haven't been good enough, whatever the extenuating circumstances.
In the 50 games he's taken charge of since his appointment, his United team have won 19, drawn 12 and lost 19, scored 78 goals but let in 76. That's given him a win percentage of just 38.1%.
It hasn't gone unnoticed either that players who were in his 'bomb squad' - Marcus Rashford, Antony and Rasmus Hojlund - are enjoying a renaissance at Barcelona, Real Betis and Napoli respectively.
His strange touchline antics - such as not watching penalty kicks and playing around with tactics boards during games - have struck a chord too, and not in a good way, it must be said.
Emery the latest to be linked with Old Trafford hot seat
Suggestions that the job may be too big for him aren't necessarily without foundation; however, how many more managers are going to be blamed for United's inability to bring back the glory days of the Sir Alex Ferguson era?
Rumours now suggest that Aston Villa's Unai Emery is being kept a very close eye on, given his pedigree of working with big clubs and the way in which he has totally transformed the Midlands-based outfit over the past couple of seasons.
During the time spent at Villa Park, Emery has taken the Villans from being a relegation-threatened side to Europe, playing a distinctive brand of football that's not only pleasing on the eye but has its basis rooted in a solid defence, mobile midfield and swift and accurate attack.
To date, the Spaniard has been in charge for 122 games, 62 of which have been won, 26 drawn and 34 lost for a win percentage of 50.8%.
188 goals scored and 165 conceded could be improved upon further, though one must understand the context of where Villa were to where they are now - and where they could go.
United could learn from Villa blueprint
In some respects, United's board could take their cue from their Villa counterparts. The upward trajectory continues for the Villans principally because, by and large, Emery has been given all of the tools to do the job. Amorim hasn't.
Perhaps the other major area where Emery wins out is with the vast experience he has acquired over the years.
13 years Amorim's senior, he has taken in stints at Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal as well as becoming a serial Europa League winner at Sevilla before taking the helm at Villa Park.
He's earned his shot at the big time, whereas one could legitimately argue with Amorim that he'd never managed in a top-five European League before being handed arguably one of the prime jobs in world football on the basis of a brilliant tenure at Sporting in Portugal.
Decisions, decisions...
If results ultimately don't improve significantly enough over the coming months, United's board are left with a decision to make, and that could be made easier in the knowledge that Emery will be a little more forthcoming with his tactical awareness and adaptability if certain things are not working.
That still won't take away the need to have the right players in situ for a system to work coherently though, and that above all else is one area where the Red Devils have to look inwards, because it won't matter which manager is in place if the players that the club have employed in certain roles just aren't good enough.
