The Red Devils’ poor form under Ruben Amorim continued as James Maddison’s first-half goal secured a narrow victory for Spurs. ..Continue Reading
Maddison capitalized on a loose ball after Man Utd goalkeeper Andre Onana parried a Lucas Bergvall shot, scoring from close range.
Owen was unimpressed with Harry Maguire, Noussair Mazraoui, and Matthijs De Ligt, insisting that one of them should have been positioned to clear the ball.
Owen said on Premier League Productions: “What frustrates me more than anything about the Manchester United team is that those centre-halves do nothing during the game.
“They hardly pick up any players at all, yet when you ask them to do one job – stop the guy who’s shooting – they’re sleeping at that as well.
“We’ve seen so many clips in the first half when there’s nobody to pick up, there’s three of them literally doing nothing. They won’t push in, they won’t go and mark anybody, they just sit there.
“It’s the easiest position on the pitch in theory because they’re asked to do nothing. The manager plays so many defenders and none of them are picking anyone up.
“The midfield for Manchester United has to be the hardest place to play in the Premier League and the defence should be the easiest because they literally mark no one, ever.
“They sit there doing nothing and everyone else is outnumbered all over the pitch.”
Manchester United’s recent loss places them in 15th position with only 13 matches remaining in the season, as Sunday’s opponents Tottenham have now overtaken them in the standings.
Ruben Amorim has managed to secure just four wins in his first 15 Premier League games as United’s manager, indicating that his players are having difficulty adapting to his tactics.
The Portuguese head coach has encouraged his players to “forget the past” and focus on their upcoming match against Everton – who have now moved ahead of them in the table – on Saturday.
Amorim said: “It was hard. When we created situations and we don’t score, it is really hard.
“Losing games and losing players, they have to change their approach to every game. We need to focus on the next game and forget the past.
“They will see me with energy to move forward to prepare for the next game.”
