Ruben Amorim has revealed why he did not watch the penalty shootout which saw Manchester United exit the Carabao Cup to Grimbsy Town.
Manchester United crashed out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, suffering a shock defeat to League Two side Grimsby Town.
United were second-best for much of the contest and trailed 2-0 after a poor first-half showing. The scoreline reflected the balance of play, with Grimsby even having two further goals ruled out for offside as they threatened to further embarrass Ruben Amorim’s side.
Bryan Mbeumo pulled one back midway through the second-half before Harry Maguire’s late header forced a penalty shootout.
After an exhausting sequence of 12 spot-kicks each, it was Mbeumo who saw his decisive effort smash off the crossbar, sealing United’s exit from the competition.
Amorim reveals why he didn’t watch United’s penalty shootout vs Grimsby
While there was not much entertainment for United fans during the 90 minutes, the penalty shoot-out did provide an interesting watch.
There were 26 penalties taken, three missed, many close saves and Amorim did not seem to watch any of them.
The United boss was sat in his dugout and looked relatively unconcerned by what was happening on the pitch and he explained afterwards that those spot-kicks did not matter to him.
“The penalty shootout is not important,” he replied on ITV1 when asked why he wasn’t watching. “If I’m there trying to see if we win the game… it doesn’t matter. The signs, the beginning of the game, during the game, that is what matters.
“If we won this game, it would have been so unfair for these guys, the opponents. Today the football was really fair, congratulations to them.
“We move to the next game and then we have time to decide things.”
Amorim’s interviews were clear
Amorim’s post-match interviews showed a man who looks like he’s struggling with the weight of being the manager of Manchester United.
Results change everything but he simply doesn’t seem like he can deliver them. He suggested that they will ‘decide things’ over the international break.
That is often a time where clubs sack managers, and it wouldn’t be the first time he may have referenced the idea of him leaving the club.
Many will be hoping that he is instead speaking about changing things in his plans to try and create a spark to save his job.
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