Man Utd suffered an awful defeat at the hands of 10-man Everton in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Monday.
Ruben Amorim pictured against Everton.(Image: 2025 Marc Atkins)
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Ruben Amorim was asked how he felt after Manchester United's defeat to Everton. "Frustration, disappointment about the way we played the game. I think they were the better team," he said.
"With 11, they defended really well. With 10 men, 70 minutes. So I think we deserved to lose. We didn't play well. We didn't play with the right intensity. That's it."
But why did the players deliver such a shocking performance? "We talk about this a lot of times," Amorim said. "I know which point we are in the moment. I have that feeling during this run. I always talk about that.
"We are not there, not even near the point that we should be to fight for the best positions in the league. We have a lot to do and we need to be perfect to win. We were not perfect today."
United should not need to be "perfect" to beat a 10-man Everton at Old Trafford. The decision to send off Idrissa Gana Gueye handed United a huge advantage with 77 minutes remaining, but Everton grew in belief they would claim a victory with every minute after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's goal.
Everton did not look like a side missing a player on the pitch. United played into their hands, playing crosses into the box, which was illogical given the height of Everton's backline.
United could not control the game, despite having the advantage of an extra man, and the decision to leave three centre-backs on the pitch didn't make sense. It felt like Amorim was being stubborn because if he had changed his system in an attempt to get back into the game there would be no going back.
Everyone would have said, 'if you can change your system against Everton, why haven't you previously?' Amorim stuck by his system when logic said the team needed to be tweaked.
Kobbie Mainoo was introduced for Casemiro just before the hour mark, but bringing off Leny Yoro for the midfielder would have given United a better chance of gaining control.
There was no need to have Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Luke Shaw on the pitch for the entire game when United desperately needed a goal. De Ligt missed a chance in added time, but he is a defender and cannot be blamed.
Yoro had a game to forget, failing to commit to the challenge before Dewsbury-Hall opened the scoring in the 29th minute, and he was the logical candidate to be removed for a midfielder.
Amorim is risk-averse and should have played with three midfielders. Shea Lacey was the only attacking option on the bench once the changes had been made, but having an extra midfielder would have helped a lot,
It would have allowed United to make their extra man advantage count, move the ball with purpose and make Everton's players tired. Then an opening likely would have emerged against.
Instead, crosses were played into the box, and Joshua Zirkzee was asked to find an equaliser with his head. Zirkzee drew a great save from Jordan Pickford, but he is not a competent goalscorer.
Amorim was heaped with praise during an excellent October after overseeing wins against Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton, but it's fair to criticise the United boss after such a shocking defeat.
The 40-year-old's in-game management against a team with 10 men was poor. Amorim overlooked a potential solution - bringing on Mainoo for Yoro - because he wanted to continue with three at the back.
Everton had only claimed a single victory in 32 years at Old Trafford in the Premier League, while David Moyes had failed to win at the ground in 17 attempts as a visiting manager. The odds were further stacked against Everton when Gana Gueye slapped his own teammate.
"It's been difficult to win here over the years, but over the recent seasons, I've felt I've come close," said Moyes during his press conference. "But if you said I would get a result with 10 men, when it was 0-0, I would have said that would be really tough. It was a brilliant performance."
United's defeat is made worse by the opportunity they had to climb into the Champions League places. The Reds would have moved to fifth position at the least if they had won against Everton.
Amorim must inspire a response next weekend against Crystal Palace. He believes that he is a "better manager" after learning from last season, but he is still refusing to adapt.