Gary Lineker has said that Kobbie Mainoo is the perfect example of dismissing one wild Manchester United theory after the Liverpool match at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Kobbie Mainoo played a starring role for Manchester United against Liverpool at the weekend, with the 21-year-old midfielder netting the second-half winner for his side.
The England international opened his goalscoring account for the Red Devils this season after scoring with a superb long-range strike in the Premier League tie.
Mainoo restored United’s lead over rivals Liverpool after the Red Devils blew their 2-0 advantage over the Reds early in the second half of the clash at Old Trafford.
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Gary Lineker hits out at a Ruben Amorim theory amid his praise for Man Utd star Kobbie Mainoo
Sunday’s 3-2 win over Liverpool ensured that Manchester United will return to the Champions League for the 2026-27 campaign at Old Trafford now.
Michael Carrick has sparked Man Utd’s top-four Premier League challenge after he returned to the club in January following Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils sacking.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Gary Lineker suggested that he saw one theory where Ruben Amorim was heavily credited for the Red Devils’ campaign.
“Now, I’ve seen two or three, you know, I shouldn’t really look at these social media things and, you know, these Manchester United fan things,” he said.
“I think one of them I saw is not even a real Manchester United fan, apparently, he pretends he is.
“And they all said, yeah, but this is all because of what Amorim has done previously, prior to this.
“And this is because they bought well and stuff, but which won’t be Amorim’s job, obviously, who decided that they sign.
“I think it’s quite extraordinary.”
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Gary Lineker says that Kobbie Mainoo is the proof that Ruben Amorim played no major role in Man Utd’s run of form
Lineker argued that the praise for former United manager Amorim takes away from the impact that Michael Carrick has had over the course of the last 14 matches.
The former Barcelona and England striker added that Mainoo is the “absolute evidence” that United legend Carrick has been the key to Man Utd’s success.
“And I think you’ve, you know, they’re taking it away from Michael Carrick, because for some reason they don’t want to appoint him,” Lineker continued.
“So, the Mainoo thing for me is the absolute evidence that this is not the leftovers of what Amorim was doing.
“This is the fact that he’s played Bruno [Fernandes] in a more forward position. The fact that he’s brought back Mainoo, Harry Maguire at the back, who was, you know, not looked at too often. So, I just think there’s a big improvement there.
“I mean, I mean, they’re still, you know, they’re still not got overall, probably the players to compete for the league next season.
“And the bigger test will be the fact that they, at the moment, they’re only playing once a week. And that, that obviously can plan more. But the improvement is stark.”
Mainoo has started all but one of the 14 Premier League matches that Carrick has overseen in the post-Amorim era of the club.
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