Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim delivered a stinging appraisal of wingback Patrick Dorgu, a player whose “anxiety” in possession is palpable in the eyes of his manager. The Danish defender was swiftly dropped to the bench for the trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The February 2025 arrival always seemed to be an odd fit for United. Dorgu was signed with the specific intention of playing as a left wingback despite showing his best form for Lecce as a right winger. The 21-year-old has even looked more comfortable as an orthodox left back in a four-man rearguard for the Denmark national team, leaving Amorim to lament his superior performances at international level.
“You can feel the anxiety every time Patrick touched the ball,” United’s head coach damningly outlined, specifically referencing Monday’s 1–0 defeat to Everton. “I can feel the anxiety.”
Earlier this month, Dorgu slotted in a wonderfully measured equalising for Denmark against Scotland, letting the ball roll across his body before applying a firm finish into the bottom corner. Amorim compared that goal to the volley he blazed over against Everton as a glaring example of his wildly varying decision-making abilities.
“He needs to be calmer playing the game,” the United coach sighed. “You remember the shot against Everton. That was easier than the decision he had to make against the guys from Scotland.
“He made a great decision, and I saw it when he played in Italy. But here is different, and sometimes the pressure is hard for them in the beginning, but he has time to improve.”
Dalot Has His Own Issues
Dorgu clearly hasn’t improved enough over the subsequent six days, dropping to the bench at Selhurst Park as Diogo Dalot took his place. However, the Portuguese wingback was not spared from his own criticism.
The attacking contributions of both players were called into question during United’s limp loss to Everton. Dorgu started at left wingback and failed to deliver a single successful cross on a night which also saw him miss a clear sight of goal.
Dalot was called off the bench to replace Dorgu shortly before the hour mark as Amorim tried to find a way of breaking down the staunch defensive resolve forged by the 10 Everton players left on the pitch after Idrissa Gueye’s early red card. The Portuguese substitute failed to take a shot and only created one snatched chance while also failing to pick out a teammate with a ball into the box.
“I think they [Dorgu and Dalot] are far from the best and they know it,” Amorim sighed ahead of Sunday’s clash with Palace. “Like a lot of players in our team, like myself, so I just look at them and I think they have so much more to give.”
“What I feel, when I see them training, they are doing so much better than in games,” the United boss added.
Amorim also doubled down on his claims that United need to sign another attack-minded wingback. “We have time to think about that,” he said when the prospect of purchases was raised, “I don’t know what is going to happen in January.”
Amorim Takes Aim at United’s ‘Soft’ Underbelly
Dalot and Dorgu were not alone in getting chewed out. United’s entire defensive structure was derided as soft by their own manager.
“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,” Amorim lamented earlier this week. “[We need to be] more strong on the duels and Crystal Palace are very strong on duels and when they have to defend, they are really strong.
“Those things can change how you see teams, but we need to improve in a lot of things. We need to close our goals because we are scoring goals.”
Amorim worryingly explained that these defensive lapses are not a question of United being outnumbered, the players present in the box simply aren’t doing enough to stop the opposition.
“You are controlling the game against Tottenham and you have the same amount of guys when they score,” he reflected. “We are in a good position, but we need to be better and more aggressive. That is my biggest concern.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ruben Amorim Savages Man Utd Player Before Dropping Him for Crystal Palace Trip.
