Ruben Amorim identified four Manchester United players who failed to meet his expectations after the Red Devils managed a late, hard-fought win over Southampton.
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Amad Diallo rescued United with a stunning hat-trick in the closing moments, securing all three points for the home side in dramatic fashion. ..Continue Reading
Manuel Ugarte had accidentally scored an own goal just before halftime, giving Southampton an unexpected lead. Amad’s exceptional performance masked the deficiencies in what was another lackluster night for United.
In a post-match interview on TNT Sports, Amorim did not hesitate to call out specific players when questioned by Paul Scholes about what he felt was lacking from his team.
“It’s not just tiredness but playing in this stadium, we lost the last three games here,” said the United boss. “The pressure is different because we try to press the opponent in the build-up and you can feel the difficulties.
“Matheus [Fernandes] between the lines and [Tyler] Dibling between the lines caused us a lot of problems. We have difficulties to press high at the moment. This team is not used to doing that.
“It seems a lack of enthusiasm. Ugarte is late. [Kobbie] Mainoo is late. Bruno [Fernandes] going outside when the ball is inside. In one transition, Leny [Yoro] cannot press the guy.
“These small things push the team behind and we get nervous without the ball. When you have one opportunity you feel the team can control the game better. I want to be fair to my players. It was a lack of speed and a lack of control in the game.”
Amorim was also quick to give credit to Southampton, who were the better team for the majority of the game before suffering a late collapse.
“A very difficult game, a game of two halves,” he said. “They did a very good job, Southampton, creating space between the lines. [Kamaldeen Sulemana] with a lot of space, we had a lot of difficulty to stop that player.
“When they lose their physicality, we find the space to use. The feeling is we have so much to do. The team is really tired. It was a win, it was good. Let’s continue.”
When asked for his thoughts on Amad’s display, the 39-year-old added: “Even in the first half, every time Amad gets the ball he can push the ball. He pushes the other team into the final third.
“That is really important. We didn’t have a good game, but at this moment, winning is the most important thing.”
The victory allowed United to rise three spots in the Premier League standings, now occupying 12th place with only seven wins out of 21 games.
They are still 13 points away from the top four, making the dream of European qualification seem highly unlikely at this time.
