Manchester United had extended their unbeaten run to five games, the longest under Ruben Amorim, but the Portuguese head coach was far from impressed. “We have a lot of problems,” he gravely warned.
Amorim was left to lament a befuddling 2–2 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday lunchtime. United were well worth their first-half lead and were still 1–0 up in the 84th minute before conspiring to concede twice in the space of six minutes. Matthijs de Ligt rescued a point for the visitors but could not sweeten his manager’s sour mood.
It was put to Amorim that his side had undergone a remarkably similar helter-skelter trajectory last weekend against Nottingham Forest; taking the lead before slipping to a 2–1 deficit only to emerge with a share of the spoils. Is this a problem, Amorim was asked. “We have a lot of problems,” the 40-year-old sighed in his press conference, “we are just in the beginning.
“I know sometimes the results show people that we are improving: we are improving but we have a lot to do. We were comfortable in the game but I think we should do better, be more aggressive, feeling the environment in the stadium and that the three points were there, the space was there.”
United were notably restrained after the half-time interval, content to sit back and absorb while taking just one shot before Tottenham’s entirely unexpected turnaround forced the visitors out of their slumber.
“I think we felt too comfortable during the game,” Amorim explained. “We need to expect that in one play anything can happen and change the mood of the stadium, and today was that. We need to do better because the game was there to take.”
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” Amorim told TNT Sports postmatch, “we are at the beginning of becoming a strong team, so we have a lot to do.”
De Ligt: We Were Tired
A wild end at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. pic.twitter.com/KiSesvdhQ6
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Unlike Tottenham, who were in action against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday night, Manchester United had a free week to prepare for Saturday’s trip to the capital. Yet, De Ligt still admitted that he and his teammates “were a little tired” in the second half.
“We didn’t get the chance to get out of our half,” he moaned, offering an unflattering explanation for a collapse which highlights some very concerning aspects about United’s conditioning.
Should the club achieve the minimum standards set by this illustrious enterprise, this season will represent their shortest for many years to come. Without any European football and following a humiliating second-round Carabao Cup exit to Grimsby Town, United can only play a maximum of 45 games across all competitions this season—and that’s assuming they make it to the FA Cup final. Last term there were 60 games to navigate.
If United are tired at this early point of a gentle fixture list, they will be in for a rude awakening next year.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ruben Amorim Delivers Scathing Six-Word Assessment of Man Utd.
