Three Manchester United stars ripped into for “literally doing nothing” against Tottenham by ex-player

Three Manchester United stars have been ripped into following the recent Premier League loss against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester United’s struggles continued as James Maddison’s first-half goal secured a 1-0 win for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Spurs looked to dominate possession early, but United created the first real chances, with Rasmus Højlund, Alejandro Garnacho, and Diogo Dalot all testing the hosts within the opening ten minutes. However, Tottenham struck soon after, with Maddison reacting quickest to a rebound to fire his side ahead.

Despite United’s attacking intent, their finishing let them down, and they went into the break trailing 1-0. They increased the tempo in the second half, but their lack of composure in front of goal continued to prove costly.

As the clock ticked down, Tottenham regained control, yet United continued to push. Late chances fell to Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee, but wasteful finishing and crucial errors ensured Rúben Amorim’s men left North London empty-handed once again.

Owen blasts United’s defence

Speaking on Premier League Productions, former United striker Michael Owen has ripped into United’s back three, explaining he feels that they do nothing during a game.

United lined up with Noussair Mazraoui, Harry Maguire, and Matthijs de Ligt during the tie, while Lisandro Martínez and Jonny Evans were out injured, and Leny Yoro was unavailable through illness.

“What frustrates me more than anything about the Manchester United team is that those centre-halves do nothing during the game,” Owen explained.

“They hardly pick up any players at all, yet when you ask them to do one job – stop the guy who’s shooting – they’re sleeping at that as well.

“We’ve seen so many clips in the first half when there’s nobody to pick up, there’s three of them literally doing nothing. They won’t push in, they won’t go and mark anybody, they just sit there.

“It’s the easiest position on the pitch in theory because they’re asked to do nothing. The manager plays so many defenders and none of them are picking anyone up.

“The midfield for Manchester United has to be the hardest place to play in the Premier League and the defence should be the easiest because they literally mark no one, ever.

“They sit there doing nothing and everyone else is outnumbered all over the pitch.”

Consistent changes are causing Amorim problems

As much as Owen can claim that Amorim has not given his defensive line instructions for games, he and all others know that this will not be the case.

Read More: “I don’t like…” Michael Owen agrees with what Gary Neville said is the best part about Rúben Amorim

United lost six players due to injury and illness ahead of the Tottenham fixture, which the head coach explained cost him as he had worked on a game plan with his squad all week before having to make multiple changes leading up to the tie.

With those such as Kobbie Mainoo, Amad, and Yoro all unavailable despite almost certainly nailed on starters against Tottenham, Amorim had to adapt at the last minute, and this cost him dearly.

It’s unfair of Owen to claim that Amorim is giving his centre-backs no instructions when the head coach has explained time and time again that he is having to try his best with limited resources and minutes with his squad on the training pitch.

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