Manchester United and Ruben Amorim are back to the drawing board after Spurs won their third game against them this season.
This one, a 0-1 loss, came partly because Ruben Amorim had a vastly undermanned side owing to freak injury issues in the midweek in training.
Man Utd squad was half made up of youngsters from the academy due to injuries and despite creating many chances, the shooting boots were forgotten.
Both, the Man Utd manager and Matthijs de Ligt broke down the game afterward but there was a clear point of disagreement between the two over reasons for defeat.
Ruben Amorim on Man Utd’s loss to Spurs
The results under Amorim have hardly been up to par but one thing he’s done to perfection is communication, be it with the fans or in the media via press conferences and interviews.
After the game, he was eager to break down his line of thinking which is appreciable because regardless of whether one agrees with him or not, at least he doesn’t talk in intangible platitudes.
Amorim said after the game that injuries were a big reason why the team looked disjointed, forcing him to change the profile of players and in turn, the system.
He said: “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].
“And when you are changing all the time to get the players to react to the base, it’s really hard.”
Matthijs de Ligt disagrees with Amorim
Count De Ligt among the ones who disagreed with Amorim, saying he didn’t think injuries are any excuse, instead putting the loss down a gap in hunger.
De Ligt said: “I think the urgency, the hunger to score, that is something that may be lacking. That’s not only on the attackers, it’s also on the midfield and the defenders. It’s a team thing and we definitely need to improve.
“We still had a starting XI with first-team players. It’s no excuse. It’s not nice when you lose five players in one week, but that’s part of football, part of life.”
It is appreciable that De Ligt doesn’t want to look at “excuses” but in this case, it’s not black and white.
Amorim isn’t wrong about his whole system getting upended because of injuries and that was clear to see in the team’s open setup.
At the same time, De Ligt and the players need to do better on the pitch because they certainly created enough to get a draw at least. Ultimately, it’s a collective failure and another low for Man Utd in a season straight from nightmares.
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