INCONSISTENCY KILLS: RUBEN AMORIM SLAMS UNITED AFTER LATE GOAL CONCEDED
A furious Ruben Amorim slammed his Manchester United team's inconsistency and failure to hold a lead after Soungoutou Magassa's late equalizer for West Ham
Ruben Amorim didn't hide his frustration after Manchester United blew their lead against West Ham at Old Trafford.
Their good run of five games without a loss ended when Everton beat them 1-0 at home about a week and a half ago.
United bounced back by beating Crystal Palace 2-1 on Sunday, but couldn't keep the momentum going back at Old Trafford.
Soungoutou Magassa scored from a corner late in the game, cancelling out Diogo Dalot’s goal and earning West Ham a tie, which left Amorim fuming.
"I'm frustrated and angry, that's all," he said, clearly annoyed, at the post-game press conference.
When asked how he plans to improve the team's performance, he said, We just need to keep working and aim to win the next game.
Amorim seemed angrier than usual, even snapping at reporters and disagreeing with the idea that United had been declining recently.
"We aren't going backwards," he insisted. The results might be, but we've had good moments. That can happen.
You were saying that when we were on that winning streak, the team was perfect and that we were close to being perfect again. The truth is, we're not consistent.
If you look at their goal, it was in the 83rd minute. It was just a long ball, and we had it under control. We need to do better.
Amorim plans to discuss the game with his players on Friday after he's calmed down. He mentioned an incident after a 3-1 loss to Brighton in January when he kicked a TV in the locker room.
He brought up that incident after this latest setback, as well as the 4-2 win against West Ham in October, when they struggled after seeming to be in control.
"I'm usually pretty consistent in that way," he said. Like that time with Brighton last year. I'll talk to the players.
I always feel—and I think everyone else does too—that we need to score more goals.
Even in the Brighton game (in October), we were up 3-0, and then suddenly we let them score twice. We struggle with that. We’re inconsistent, and we need to get better.
United plays Wolves on Monday, who haven't won a game yet. But they can't take anything for granted after failing to beat West Ham at home.
West Ham plays Brighton on Sunday, and their coach, Nuno Espirito Santo, said, I thought we played well overall.
We defended well in the first half. I think we started the game strong. We combined well, created corners, and had good energy.
The second half was very good, even though we let in a goal. We responded positively, controlled the game, and pushed forward. I think we deserved the tie.
The game could have gone either way, but I'm happy with our performance.
Even when we lost to Liverpool, we competed well. We just made mistakes that cost us.
But we showed character today, so it’s a small step in the right direction. We still have a lot to improve, and it's tough with the pressure we're under, but we'll keep working at it.
FA UPHOLDS HARRY MAGUIRE MISCONDUCT CHARGE; DEFENDER OFFICIALLY BANNED FOR CHELSEA TRIP
Man United hit with a major blow! Maguire misconduct ban confirmed as Chelsea eye a crucial Premier League win.
Harry Maguire is staring down a one-match ban and a fine after the Football Association upheld a misconduct charge against him. The Manchester United defender will miss the trip to Chelsea, which only makes an already messy situation worse for Michael Carrick at the back.
Things aren’t looking great for United’s defence right now. According to The Athletic, Maguire won’t play against Chelsea this weekend. He’s still in trouble for how he went after the fourth official in that Bournemouth match, where he got sent off. It’s extra frustrating because Maguire just served another suspension during United’s 2-1 loss to Leeds after getting dismissed in that wild 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. Carrick’s relied on Maguire a lot since taking over; 10 of his 14 league starts have come under the new manager, so this is a rough blow.
The FA made their stance clear after Maguire allegedly swore at fourth official Matt Donohue following his red card for a foul on Evanilson. The league is strict about how players treat officials, and this outburst crossed the line. In their words: “It is alleged that the defender acted improperly and used abusive or insulting words and behaviour towards the fourth official following his dismissal.”
And Maguire’s not the only headache for Carrick. Lisandro Martinez is also likely out, probably facing a three-match ban after pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair and getting sent off against Leeds. United’s appealing it, but PGMO chief Howard Webb hasn’t left much doubt: hair-pulling counts as violent conduct, full stop. Clubs get that reminder every season, and pulling someone’s hair with force? The refs won’t hesitate to show red.
So now Carrick’s options are threadbare. With both senior centre-backs banned, he’s got little choice but to start Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven, a pair of teenagers at Stamford Bridge. United is hanging onto third in the league for now, but Chelsea could close the gap to just four points if they win. No experienced backups, the pressure of Stamford Bridge, and the season’s most crucial spell ahead, these young defenders are about to get thrown straight into the deep end.
BRUNO FERNANDES BACKS MICHAEL CARRICK FOR PERMANENT MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER ROLE
Bruno Fernandes reveals how Michael Carrick saved Man Utd with tactical shifts and the return of Kobbie Mainoo.
Bruno Fernandes credits Michael Carrick’s turnaround at Manchester United to some key changes: starting different players, shifting positions, switching up the formation, and, maybe most importantly, finally finding the back of the net.
Things were rough under Ruben Amorim, who lost his job in January after just 14 months at Old Trafford. Honestly, United hadn’t seen a season that bad in over five decades. Amorim’s reign ended with a loss to Tottenham in the Europa League final, and, in the Premier League, he racked up the worst win rate (32%), the most goals conceded per game (1.53), and the fewest clean sheets (15%) of any manager in the club’s history.
Once Amorim was out, Carrick took over as head coach until the season’s end. Now, after guiding United up to third in the league, he’s the clear favourite to get the job full-time.
One of Carrick’s first moves was bringing Kobbie Mainoo back into the starting eleven. He also didn’t hesitate to change the team’s formation, both of which Fernandes sees as major reasons for the recent success.
“We’ve changed a lot,” Fernandes told Men in Blazers. “He changed some players, switched around some positions, tried a new formation, and, at the end of the day, we started scoring goals.
“We were always creating chances and racking up opportunities, even under Ruben. But we just weren’t finishing them. Defensively, we actually kept teams out of our box pretty well, but then we’d still concede goals.
“With Carrick, we tightened up at the back, got more compact. There’ve been games where we’ve just had to grind it out because we weren’t in great form, but that sacrifice made a difference. Honestly, getting two tough games right off the bat helped beat City, and then Arsenal at the Emirates really set the tone. After that, you start to feel, okay, we’re playing good football now, maybe things will change. The City game was probably our best performance, but against Arsenal, we just found a way to get the win.
“Big clubs have to find ways to get results even if it’s not always pretty.”
Fernandes also gave Carrick the highest praise by saying he’s the ex-United player he’d most want as a teammate. “I wouldn’t pick Rooney, because then I'd end up on the bench,” he joked.
“It might sound odd, but I’d go with Michael Carrick. I trained with him when he was here under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Sometimes he’d join us as a six, playing those balls between the lines; he was brilliant.
“As a number ten, you want those quick passes, and Carrick had amazing timing. It’s not just about holding on to the ball; it’s about moving it fast and finding your teammate. He was perfect at that, and having someone behind you like that just makes your job so much easier.”
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