After falling to their third defeat of the season against Manchester City, Gary Neville gave his thoughts on what Sir Jim Ratcliffe will tell Amorim after his side slumped to a 3-0 defeat
Manchester United slipped to their third defeat of the season as Manchester City cruised to a 3-0 victory over Rúben Amorim’s side at the Etihad Stadium.
The derby opened with early attempts from Benjamin Šeško and Erling Haaland, but both teams struggled to settle into a rhythm. City made the breakthrough just before the 20th minute, when Phil Foden fired the hosts ahead.
United pressed for an equaliser but went into the break empty-handed. After half-time, Amorim’s men looked brighter, only for Haaland to double City’s advantage. The Norwegian soon added a second for himself, effectively putting the contest to bed with more than 20 minutes still to play.
Late chances fell to Bryan Mbeumo and Casemiro, but neither could capitalise, leaving the rain-soaked Etihad to celebrate a commanding win for Guardiola’s side.
Pressure could be mounting on Amorim
Amorim has now taken charge of over 30 games in the Premier League, but has never won back-to-back fixtures, a stat that shows how United have never been able to build up any semblance of momentum since he took charge last November.
Speaking after the game, United legend Gary Neville spoke on Amorim’s tactics and explained what Sir Jim Ratcliffe will tell Amorim after this defeat.
He said: “I think there will be some pressure applied to the manager and his rigidity of sticking with the system. With Chelsea next week, another defeat and big questions would start to be asked.”
INEOS have made their support for the Portuguese coach clear, but at some point they may have to ask themselves if the success that the club demands in the near future has Amorim in charge of the squad or not.
Amorim needs to have a Plan B
Despite not being largely successful since he came in last season, Amorim has insisted on his system that brought him so much success during his time managing both Braga and Sporting Lisbon.
United play in a 5-2-3 formation, with the aim of quickly winning possession back if and when they lose the ball higher up the pitch, also often having an extra player in defence to sure up the back line.
It was evident today that Amorim needed an alternate plan to counter City’s formation which saw United’s two midfielders being overrun by City’s four, which allowed them to cut through the two no matter who was in the pivot.
While there was some good playing out from the back owing to the extra man there, the midfield and attack were simply second best to City.
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