Manchester United crashed to a deeply frustrating 1-0 home defeat against Everton at Old Trafford on Monday night.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored the only goal of the game in the first half after Everton were reduced to 10 men.
United head coach Ruben Amorim made three substitutions but his side failed to break down Everton’s resilient defence.
Speaking after the game, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher criticised Amorim for sticking to his 3-4-2-1 formation.
He said (via Sky Sports): “This is a bad night for the manager. There was an awful long time left in that game [after 10-manEverton went ahead].
“I don’t understand how you can stick with something so steadfastly in a situation like that when it’s basically one guy up front who’s not really up front, you don’t need three players there.
“It’s one of those moments where I think a lot of people will really question the manager on the back of that defeat. They’ll look at the players, and we know the players should do better, but the manager will take a lot of the blame for tonight.”
Another lazy piece of punditry from Carragher
Yes, Amorim had a poor night but so did the players who somehow could not break down 10-man Everton.
Placing every ounce of blame on the manager is yet another example of Carragher speaking without real substance.
Sticking to a system is not a crime but failing to tweak it at the right moment is.
For instance, Amorim could easily have kept Noussair Mazraoui at right centre-back instead of Leny Yoro after gaining the numerical advantage.
The 28-year-old is a more progressive defender and would have supported the attack better.
He also targeted Joshua Zirkzee for dropping deep, one of the very traits that makes the Dutchman so effective.
Those movements were designed to drag defenders out of position so Mason Mount and Bryan Mbeumo could attack the spaces behind.
There is no doubt that Amorim made mistakes but we would love to see Carragher making such claims consistently without any bias.
His former team has been in dreadful form and were humiliated in a 3-0 defeat at Anfield.
He would have been demanding Amorim’s sacking if United had lost 3-0 against Everton.
Arne Slot may have lifted the title last season but his side now sits at a miserable 12th, which is embarrassing however you spin it.
All that said, United were dreadful last night and fully deserved the defeat.
The hunger was missing, the intensity was flat, and they lost nearly every important duel.
After a promising five-match unbeaten run, this collapse will cut deep inside the dressing room and will give chances to pundits like Carragher to blindly point fingers.