Manchester United’s Europa League final is still days away and they play Chelsea in the Premier League first, but Ruben Amorim has plenty to fall back on already before facing Spurs.
Ruben Amorim set a challenge to Man Utd after the win against Athletic Club but it backfired sensationally, with the team losing 0-2 to West Ham.
He did so again before the Chelsea game, knowing full well that he needs his team to be at their best against a club that has already beaten United thrice this season.
Of those three occasions, two losses have come under Ruben Amorim, and what he said the last time United lost to Spurs will give Man Utd fans a sense of deja vu.
It’s still true and will decide the Europa League final.
Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Ruben Amorim’s assessment of Man Utd
Man Utd last faced Spurs on February 16, the week straight from hell when Amorim lost three players to injury during the international break.
Still, United gave a good account of themselves and lost just 1-0 courtesy of an early James Maddison goal.
Maddison will miss the Europa League final, alongside Dejan Kulusevski who is injured and recently underwent surgery.
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However, the theme of that game from United’s POV is something that follows them to this day.
Here are Ruben Amorim’s words after United lost to Spurs that day, and any Man Utd fan will struggle to decipher when they were said, and for which game, if they weren’t told that beforehand.
He said at the time: “I think the big difference was the goal they scored and we didn’t score. We had the chances. We tried a different approach with the players that we had. We created situations.
“In the end, the biggest difference was they scored and we didn’t. You want to score, sometimes in these moments you feel a little frustrated because that can change the game.”
Amorim’s assertion of “We created chances but didn’t score while they did” can be said for pretty much every loss since then, and that’s where the Europa League final will be decided as well.
Man Utd need to find their shooting boots
It’s remarkable that the problem diagnosed by Amorim still remains as chronic as ever three months on and has somehow got worse.
United’s Premier League position would be far better than what it is had the players just taken their chances against the likes of Wolves, Bournemouth, or West Ham, just to name a few.
The team has consistently started to create chances and dominate games, which is a credit to the coach, but they can’t put the ball in the net, where the coach can’t help.
Fans would hope that the wastefulness is washed away in the Premier League because they can’t afford to have a repeat of that 1-0 loss in the Europa League final.
They will get chances, and they need to take them this time.