“There’s no doubt…” Gary Neville explains what hurt Rúben Amorim the most vs Tottenham

Gary Neville has explained what hurt Rúben Amorim the most as Manchester United fell to a 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester United endured another frustrating afternoon as James Maddison’s first-half strike sealed a 1-0 win for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday.

Spurs controlled possession early on, but United created the first real chances, with Rasmus Højlund, Alejandro Garnacho, and Diogo Dalot all going close within the opening ten minutes. However, Tottenham struck moments later, with Maddison reacting quickest to a loose ball to put the hosts ahead.

United pressed for an equaliser but struggled to convert their opportunities, heading into the break trailing 1-0. They showed greater urgency in the second half but continued to waste key chances, failing to break down a disciplined Spurs defence.

With 20 minutes to play, Tottenham regained control, yet United kept pushing forward. Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee both had late opportunities, but crucial lapses in possession and a lack of composure in front of goal saw Rúben Amorim’s side leave North London empty-handed.

What hurt Amorim the most vs Tottenham

Former United player and club legend Gary Neville reacted to the result with Sky Sports, and speaking on their post-match show, the ex-defender explained he feels losing Amad to injury just days before the game hurt Amorim more than anything else as the side lost their balance.

“Well, there’s no doubt that losing Amad meant that they lost all the balance on that right-hand side of the pitch,” Neville started. We saw what happened against Newcastle when Zirkzee played in one of those [attacking midfield positions].

“He played in the left pocket that day, and he had to go out to that side to defend. The problem was today it meant that Bruno Fernandes was asked to put in [a big shift].

“I mean, not that a player should be worried about putting in a big shift, they all have to put in a big shift, but when your best player’s having to basically trek out 50 yards to Jed Spence and then trek back in and leave Casemiro on his own, I didn’t… And then when he gets knocked out, yeah, I didn’t think that was right. I just didn’t think that was right.

“I mean, look, I’m sure that he’s got problems because he’s got no players to call upon who can play on that side, but for me, your best player should be reserved for winning you the game, and I didn’t think it helped that at all in the first half, and it’ll out-top them and easy out all the time.”

The club must be patient with Amorim

Speaking further, Neville went on to explain that he feels the club have to be patient with Amorim in order to get over this hump and fix the issues, which is something Amorim himself has echoed.

Read More: The “best thing” about Rúben Amorim speaks volumes about his Manchester United team, says Gary Neville

“So for me, that was an issue, but he’s [Amorim] right in what he says,” Neville continued. “I mean, United had two or three big chances and didn’t take it.

“The bigger concern is that the players aren’t demonstrated in this system yet in any of the 20 games that Rúben Amorim has had, apart from maybe Liverpool away, that there is an entertainment and a performance level to this system.

“So, look, they’re going to have to be patient, the club, the players are going to have to be patient, Rúben Amorim’s going to have to be patient, everyone’s going to have to be patient, but I would like to have seen the performance levels getting higher.”

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