Diogo Dalot blatantly ignored a simple directive during the weekend loss to Tottenham.
United’s narrow defeat in North London marked their 12th loss this season. James Maddison scored the only goal in the first half after attempts by Son Heung-min and Lucas Bergvall were blocked.
Amorim would have been furious watching Dalot disregard his instruction. The Portuguese coach had emphatically told the defender to stay close to Son.
However, less than a minute later, the South Korean found enough space to shoot, leading to a blocked shot that eventually allowed Maddison to score.
Amorim’s reaction to Tottenham’s opening goal was telling. He slumped his shoulders and stretched out his arms in apparent disbelief at his player’s lapse in concentration.
This wasn’t the first time Amorim was frustrated with his players during another poor display in North London.
Throughout the game, he constantly issued instructions on positioning and reprimanded Hojlund for being caught offside.
The lack of progress in United’s tactical awareness is concerning. Amorim has since spoken out about his team’s struggles in North London and over the past few months.
He said: “In the end, they score, we didn’t. That was the big difference in the game. We had a lot of chances but in the end they scored one and we didn’t.
“The first step is to create situations. We have had games where we are around the box and not created situations. This game we create situations. But in this game with two teams not doing well, one goal was always going to make the difference.
“You start with one idea. We were asking about a long week for so long. And we worked our principles but day after day you lose players that change your approach to the game. I could not play the same way with Joshua [Zirkzee] as I can with Amad [Diallo].”
United legend Gary Neville took aim at the way Amorim had set up his team as he ripped apart his former side during Sky Sports commentary. “The distance between the two centre midfielders for United is all wrong,” he said.
“It’s absolute madness. The structure of the team is awful. The two in midfield are split. It’s embarrassing. You wouldn’t see this in under-9s football. Look at that space in midfield! Shocking.”
He added: “Amorim is really angry. He is going mad at his bench. He is shouting at people. I’m not sure what he is angry about. The biggest problem l can see is how this team are set up.”
Amorim will be aiming to rectify those errors on the Carrington training pitches over the next week, with the Red Devils languishing in 15th.
