Ruben Amorim witnessed first-hand the major influence that he is missing from one key first-team Manchester United player after the thumping 4-1 defeat to Newcastle.
Newcastle hosted Manchester United at St James’ Park and Eddie Howe’s men comfortably captured all three Premier League points on Sunday afternoon.
United went 1-0 down in the 24th minute after Sandro Tonali’s opener, but the Red Devils rallied back thanks to an Alejandro Garnacho equaliser in the 37th minute.
However, Ruben Amorim’s men were then dismantled in the second half and Newcastle blew United out of the water with their display at St James’ Park.
Harvey Barnes restored Newcastle’s lead only four minutes into the second half before the 27-year-old winger completed his brace in the 64th minute.
Altay Bayindir then left United fans furious after his blunder late in the second half allowed Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes to score the Magpies’ fourth.
United have won only one of their last five Premier League matches and Amorim’s side are languishing in 14th place in the table with only six league fixtures remaining.
Matthijs de Ligt’s absence through injury was felt by Ruben Amorim in Man Utd’s Premier League defeat to Newcastle at St James’ Park
Matthijs de Ligt has missed the Red Devils’ last three matches due to injury and his last appearance came in Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest earlier this month.
The 25-year-old Dutchman has impressed at Old Trafford in the current campaign after United signed him alongside Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.
Matthijs de Ligt played under Erik ten Hag at Ajax and made a real name for himself at the Dutch club before going on to play for Juventus and Bayern Munich.
The Dutch centre-back was a key defensive figure for the former United manager at Old Trafford as well before Erik ten Hag was sacked last October.
De Ligt has continued to play under Ruben Amorim in the United manager’s tactical system and has been a key first-team player for the Red Devils in the backline.
Amorim was forced to play Victor Lindelof as the central defender in the three-man backline and the United centre-back deeply disappointed against Newcastle.
The 40-year-old United manager had Harry Maguire as an unused substitute on the bench in the 4-1 Premier League defeat at St James’ Park on the weekend.
But the United backline looked weaker than it had even done with Victor Lindelof’s presence as the central figure and De Ligt’s absence was once again truly felt.
Matthijs de Ligt’s return from injury remains unknown ahead of Man Utd’s Europa League quarter-final tie vs Lyon at Old Trafford
Speaking after the result at St James’ Park, Amorim admitted that United made a “lot of mistakes” and Newcastle punished the Red Devils in the second half.
“We did a lot of mistakes and they were better than us, stronger than us,” he said, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“Suffering the second goal in the beginning of the second half hurt us a lot and then we did mistakes during the game that helped Newcastle to win the game.”
It remains unclear if Matthijs de Ligt will finally return from injury for United’s forthcoming second-leg Europa League tie against Lyon at Old Trafford.
The Netherlands international missed the first-leg clash at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais last Thursday, which ended in a 2-2 draw between United and Lyon.
United and Lyon will kick off their return-leg fixture in the Europa League quarter-finals at 8pm UK time on Thursday evening.
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