Ruben Amorim insisted Manchester United’s penalty heartbreak against Grimsby Town was irrelevant compared to the performance that came before it.
United were dumped out of the Carabao Cup in extraordinary fashion on Tuesday night, losing 12-11 on spot-kicks after clawing back from 2-0 down against the League Two side. But Amorim, who turned away during the shootout, said by that point the result was secondary.
“The penalty shootout was not important,” he told ITV. “The beginning of the game, during the game – that’s what mattered. If we win this game, it’s so unfair on the opponents. So today, the football was fair. Congratulations to them.”
Matheus Cunha missed his chance to clinch it after Andre Onana denied Clarke Oduor, before Bryan Mbeumo struck the bar in sudden death. Yet Amorim repeatedly stressed that the defining issues came long before the shootout.
“In the penalties, I was not thinking about the penalties, to go to the next stage,” he said. “I think the players spoke really loud about what they want today. It’s really clear to everybody what happened. I just want to apologise to our fans.”
The United head coach admitted he needs “time to think and decide things” after what he called a “really clear” message from his players on a night where the club’s problems were laid bare. He suggested the international break cannot come soon enough.
Amorim also moved to shield Onana, who was blamed by many for both Grimsby goals. “With all respect, when you play against a fourth division team, it’s not the goalkeeper, it’s everything,” he added. “It’s the environment, the way we face the competition. We know we are in a moment that people will pay attention to everything – it’s going to be massive, every detail. And we showed that performance today, so my players spoke for me, really loud.”