Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer both dropped clear-cut assessments over what they saw from Manchester United in Saturday’s 3-1 Premier League defeat to Brentford.
The pressure on Ruben Amorim has once again intensified after his side suffered their third Premier League defeat of the season in their opening six league matches.
The 40-year-old Manchester United manager has still been unable to secure back-to-back Premier League wins since the start of his reign at Old Trafford in 2024.
Brentford outclassed United in the first half at the Gtech Community Stadium and the Red Devils were left chasing the Premier League match on the weekend.
Igor Thiago opened the scoring inside the first 20 minutes with a stunning brace before Benjamin Sesko made his mark by reducing the deficit for United in the first half.
Gary Lineker tells Alan Shearer exactly what he saw from Man Utd’s Premier League performance vs Brentford
Manchester United missed the chance to pull level in the second half at the Gtech Community Stadium after Bruno Fernandes saw his spot-kick attempt denied.
Following Bruno Fernandes’ penalty miss, Mathias Jensen scored from a superb long-range effort deep in injury time to seal all three Premier League points for Brentford.
Speaking after United’s 3-1 Premier League defeat to Brentford, Gary Lineker suggested that the Red Devils player still can’t play in Ruben Amorim’s system.
“Manchester United. I was watching your [Alan Shearer] Match of the Day [appearance],” he said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“I watched it this morning to make sure I saw all the games before we talked. And I mean, just one long ball over the top and they’re in desperate trouble.
“They’re not coming to grips with that system. It seems to me [that] still they don’t have the players or they’re not really [bringing] in the players that fit in that system.”
Lineker explained that his previous sentiments on United manager Amorim playing one way were vindicated, with Brentford already having a “plan” to nullify them.
“He keeps saying he’s not going to change,” he added.
“Brentford knew exactly how to play against them because I voiced my concerns for United before on this, that if you play a certain way and you’re never prepared to change it, and you actually tell everybody you’re not going to change it, so everybody knows how you’re going to play, well, it’s easy to plan to play against them, isn’t it?
“And Brentford had their plan, didn’t they?”
Alan Shearer reacts to Gary Lineker’s Man Utd assessment with his own verdict on Brentford’s Premier League win
Amorim’s tactical system at United has remained divisive since his arrival from Sporting CP last November, with the Portuguese coach refusing to pivot from it.
The former Sporting CP head coach has repeatedly defended his tactics and philosophy, despite United’s clear weaknesses against Premier League teams.
Alan Shearer told Lineker that Brentford manager Keith Andrews had Amorim’s number and the United manager will be his own “downfall” at Old Trafford.
“Brentford, without doubt, had their plan, yeah,” he responded.
“I mean, he was out-schooled by Brentford, and what Brentford did, [they] did really well, and it worked.
“I mean, that will be his downfall, it really will be his downfall, unfortunately, for him, because he’s not going to budge.
“He’s right, everyone else is wrong, I guess. I mean, I know they worked really hard last week for their win, but it was back to normality.”
United’s next two Premier League fixtures in October include hosting Sunderland at Old Trafford before visiting Anfield for their showdown with rivals Liverpool.
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