Ruben Amorim says Manchester United are “soft” defending their own box and that there is little time at the club to find consistency, so wins must come now.
At the City Ground on November 1, United conceded twice in two minutes early in the second half and drew 2-2 — the same result they had at home to Tottenham the following week. On Monday Night Football, David Moyes’ Everton beat United 1-0 with their only shot on target.
This season United have scored and conceded 19 goals each, and Amorim criticised his team’s defensive play ahead of Sunday’s trip to Crystal Palace. “We have some results of not letting a lot of teams in the final third, but we are being really soft near the box so we need to improve that,” he said.
“Especially against Forest — we took a lot of crosses, we didn’t press well in that moment. Against Everton, they had 10 men, we cannot suffer a goal but we suffered a goal with the only shot on target. We are there near the box, we have more players than Everton, we should be better. More strong on the duels and Crystal Palace are very strong on duels and when they have to defend, they are really strong.”
Amorim added that the problem is collective rather than only defensive personnel: “We need to close our goals because we are scoring goals. It’s an issue, it’s not about the defenders, but about the team and the way we feel our danger near the box. It’s not just the numbers. It’s Nottingham Forest, to suffer two goals in two minutes after half-time, that’s a concern.”
Reflecting on other matches, he said: “You are controlling the game against Tottenham and you have the same amount of guys when they score. We are in a good position, but we need to be better and more aggressive. That is my biggest concern. It’s the way you see the game and understand that if you’re better in this moment, you should have more points and the narrative will be different.”
After a run of three successive Premier League wins, United have not won a league game in November. Amorim emphasised the urgency at Old Trafford: “I think it’s clear it will take time especially in the Premier League when every club is prepared for everything. They are improving a lot. We need to win now. If not, something is going to change and we know that. We just need to be better. It’s the urgency of winning. It’s not good to be at United and not winning — there is no time here. That’s why I’m frustrated all the time. We know we need time, but there is no time here so let’s do everything to win games.”
Questions were raised about Kobbie Mainoo, who has struggled for regular minutes at club level after shining for England at Euro 2024. Mainoo played the final half-hour against Everton; Amorim said he values him but must pick the best team to win. “This is a team sport. I have a lot of players in my squad, they want to be in the World Cup,” he said. “I put Kobbie [on against Everton] because he’s really good near the box. Between Bruno [Fernandes] and him, he can find spaces near the box and score goals so that was my idea. I will use Kobbie and the rest of them to try and win. I’m not focused on one individual, I’m focused on all my players and I know how special it is to play at a World Cup.”
“I see him as a starter like the other guys. I just have to make a choice and in the end, it’s not been Kobbie. In the future, I don’t know. I just want to win games, I don’t care who is playing.”