Rúben Amorim has explained what his Manchester United failed to do following Everton’s red card that cost them the win on Monday night.
Manchester United’s recent Premier League momentum came to a halt as Everton secured a determined 1–0 victory at Old Trafford on Monday night.
United dominated possession in the early exchanges, but Everton created the clearer chances, and their task became harder when Idrissa Gana Gueye was sent off for striking teammate Michael Keane inside fifteen minutes.
Even with the extra player, Rúben Amorim’s side struggled to break Everton down. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall produced a brilliant finish to give David Moyes’ team the lead, and United went into the interval still searching for inspiration.
United introduced Mason Mount after the break, followed by Kobbie Mainoo and Diogo Dalot, but Everton’s defensive shape held strong. In the final twenty minutes, Bryan Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes, and the rest of United’s attacking unit increased the pressure, with Joshua Zirkzee forcing a superb save from Jordan Pickford.
As the match moved into added time, Everton handled the closing moments with composure and walked away with a deserved win.
Where did Amorim’s men fall short?
Following the game, the United boss was asked how he expected his team to react after the red card, to which he admitted he wanted his side to push the opponent back to their own goal and stifle their transitions. But, to his disappointment, United failed to stop the latter.
When Amorim was asked about his team’s performance, he stated, “We expected, especially right away, long possessions to push the opponent to control transitions. We didn’t control transitions even with 10 men.
“We decided to play really fast, sometimes with a long space for them to win a second ball. So the understanding of every situation of the game was not there. And then the quality near the box.
“Most important is the intensity. You can feel right away when we start the game in the first minute. We can feel when we are at the top level in intensity. And when we are not, then we cannot win games in this way.”
United’s inability to stop Everton in transition was their fatal blow. Too many times, Everton were able to control the game by breaking past United’s first and second lines, holding the ball up in their final third, and stopping United’s attacking momentum. This is what cost them the game.
Are United reverting to their old ways?
Going into the match, the Portuguese coach expected United to take complete control of the game, dominating possession and managing transitions.
Despite having an extra, Man Utd surrendered control of the match, with their transitions and possession sloppy. At the same time, Amorim’s side played too loosely to gain any genuine control, only allowing Everton to win second balls and dictate the game’s rhythm.
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United were unable to tap into the true structure of the game, with a poor understanding of key moments, and fell into old habits of letting the intensity drop completely after conceding in the 29th minute.
The lack of pressure from United saw players like Jordan Pickford and James Tarkowski control the Everton defence, preventing the Reds from levelling the scoreline, and their attempts to claim a point fell short.
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