Ruben Amorim was far from pleased with two Manchester United players in the buildup to Anthony Elanga’s winning goal in the clash against Nottingham Forest.
Manchester United fell behind within the first five minutes after their opening corner led to a swift Nottingham Forest counter-attack, finished brilliantly by former United player Anthony Elanga.
Ruben Amorim’s side responded positively and nearly equalized when Diogo Dalot picked out Bruno Fernandes in the box, but his header went straight into the hands of Matz Sels.
United maintained decent possession but remained exposed whenever Forest broke forward on the counter, a recurring theme throughout the first half.
The second half brought more struggles, with sloppy play and limited attacking opportunities. In the closing stages, Amorim turned to Harry Maguire as an improvised centre-forward.
Maguire came closest to leveling the score, but his shot was cleared off the line, sealing all three points for Forest.
Amorim slams United duo for not fulfilling “blocker” role
It was no surprise to see Elanga score for Forest in this game, but the way in which he scored was far from pleasing for Amorim.
United had an early corner and the club’s Academy graduate was able dart through the middle of the pitch and run towards André Onana’s box without challenge.
Alejandro Garnacho and Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu were on the edge of Forest’s box when Fernandes took the corner and they are not just there to try and fire in long-ranged efforts.
Amorim described the role being to “block the transitions” and both of those players failed at that miserably.
While Dorgu was unable to keep up with Elanga, it was Garnacho who came closest to his former teammate but his challenge was weak and he didn’t even stop Elanga’s stride before he stroked the ball into the back of the net.
When speaking about the goal after the game, the United boss made his feelings clear about the two ‘blockers’, who had to “do better” in that moment to stop Elanga, even if they fouled him and took an early yellow card.
“That is clear. When you have a corner you have men to block the transitions,” he explained when speaking to reporters in his post-match press conference.
“We have all of the pitch and you can make a foul. So yeah, if you look at the game and you are the coach, you have to do better.”
United made things easier for Forest
Perhaps the worst part about the goal is that it is exactly what you expect from this Forest side, who have been one of the most deadly counter-attacking teams in the Premier League this season.
When you are struggling for goals yourself, you cannot make things easier for the opposition and that is exactly what United seemed to do in that moment.
It continued to happen throughout the game but United had more than enough chances to equalise.
A similar story continued, with a lack of quality and conviction obvious in the team’s attacking play, which was made even more glaring when Amorim turned to Maguire as the player to create a goal.
The defender actually came closest to scoring as well, with two golden opportunities in the final moments. One was headed wide and the other cleared off the line.
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