Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim reflects on his team’s 1-0 loss to Everton, who spent more than 75 minutes with 10 men
Man Utd head coach Ruben Amorim has claimed his side are “nowhere near” where they need to be and hopes they “fight each other” after losing to 10-man Everton.
With Everton down to 10 men for over 75 minutes after Idrissa Gueye’s red card for striking his own team-mate Michael Keane, Amorim’s side failed to break down a team that has only mustered one away win all season, against bottom side Wolves.
It was the first time United had ever lost a home Premier League game after seeing the opposition pick up a red card, having won 36 of the 46 games in which it had happened before. It was also David Moyes’ first-ever win at Old Trafford as an opposition manager on the 18th attempt.
But overall, it represents a new low for Amorim, who celebrated one year in charge of United in dismal fashion.
“We are not there, not even near the point that we should be to fight for the best positions,” said Amorim.
Gueye’s bizarre red card left Amorim wishing he had seen the same sort of fight from his own players.
“Fighting is not a bad thing,” he added. “Fighting doesn’t mean you don’t like each other. Fighting means you lose the ball, and I will fight you because we will score a goal. That was my feeling.
“I disagree with that red card. We can fight with teammates. I know it’s violent conduct because the referee explained, but I disagree.
“I hope my players, when they lose the ball, fight each other – though they cannot get sent off! But that is a good feeling, not a bad feeling.”
Amorim also admitted he is concerned about returning to the feeling of last season, which ended in a 15th-place finish, no trophies, and no European football for this season.
“I feel afraid of returning to this feeling of last season,” said Amorim. “That is my biggest concern. We need to work together. The players are trying, but we need to be better.”
Gary Neville branded United’s performance as an “embarrassment” at Old Trafford – while Jamie Carragher feels Amorim’s credentials will be questioned based on that performance.
Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, the former Manchester United right-back suggested that the performance in the 1-0 defeat to Everton at Old Trafford ‘smelt of complacency’, adding that it was an embarrassing night for Ruben Amorim.
Amorim was criticised throughout the match for not moving away from his much-maligned 3-4-2-1 formation and continuing to field five defenders, despite having the player advantage.
“It was nowhere near good enough,” said Neville on the Gary Neville Podcast. “That was a terrible night for Man Utd. It was an embarrassment at times.
“Forget [injuries to Sesko and Cunha], there are no excuses. I’m not entertaining that one bit.
“Everton dominated them with 11 men and with 10 men, in a different way of domination, but they dominated them through their fight and their spirit.
“It’s complacency, and complacency will kill you. The minute that you think as a football player that you have to turn up on that pitch and you’re Manchester United, and you can play for any football club, you’re done.
“It just smelt of complacency [from United]. They weren’t at it from the beginning. That is a bad one for United.
“You can’t go from the fight that they showed in certain games to that. It just erodes confidence, it erodes trust. We’re trying to build trust in a manager; we’re trying to build trust in a team.
“The fans booed collectively at the end. It was loud, and rightly so. That was an abysmal performance. It’s almost as if you’ve gone two or three steps forward, everyone’s feeling a little bit better about themselves, and you’ve just gone back to the start again.
“You can lose football matches, but you can’t lose them like that. That’s nowhere near good enough; it’s not acceptable.”
