Amorim blasts Manchester United, hopes his men ‘fight each other’
Ruben Amorim delivered a blunt assessment of Manchester United’s performance, declaring his team “nowhere near” the required standard after a damaging home defeat to ten-man Everton.
The result exposed familiar structural flaws and stalled their recent winning form.
Everton’s early implosion, featuring Idrissa Gueye’s astonishing altercation with Michael Keane and a red card inside 13 minutes, should have handed United a straightforward path to victory.
Instead, Amorim watched 77 minutes of lethargy, poor decision-making and wasted opportunities.
Error-streaked display highlights United’s stagnation
Amorim’s frustration was palpable as he watched Patrick Dorgu and Leny Yoro give away cheap possession, Amad Diallo repeatedly choose the wrong option, and senior players Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes fail to deliver in critical moments.
Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo, both under pressure to impress ahead of World Cup selection, failed to make meaningful cases for more minutes.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Senne Lammens’ slow reaction to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s curled effort sealed United’s fate.
Despite a late Zirkzee header that forced Jordan Pickford into action, United created little else, a damning response considering the numerical advantage.
Amorim: ‘We are not even near where we should be’
The manager reiterated his long-standing warning about overestimating United’s progress. “We are not there, not even near the point we should be to fight for the best positions,” he said. “We need to be perfect to win games. We were not perfect today.”
Leads squandered at Nottingham Forest and Tottenham cost them crucial points. Against Everton, victory would have lifted them to fifth.
Instead, they fell to their first-ever Old Trafford Premier League defeat against an opponent reduced to ten men, having previously won 36 and drawn 10 in such scenarios.
Doubts resurface as United lose direction
A year into Amorim’s tenure and £250 million spent in the summer, United sit 10th, still within reach of the top four, but lacking identity, fluency and conviction.
“Frustration, disappointment,” Amorim summarised. “They were the better team. We deserved to lose. We need to win this game no matter what.”
The manager even endorsed David Moyes’ interpretation of the Gueye-Keane clash as a sign of accountability.
“Fighting is not a bad thing,” Amorim said. “I hope my players, when they lose the ball, fight each other.”
Fear of regression looms large
After progress in October, November has dragged United backwards. Amorim admitted he fears slipping into the spiral of last season, when every match felt like a crisis in waiting.
“I feel afraid of returning to this feeling of last season. That is my biggest concern,” he said. “We need to be better.”
