Gary Neville destroys ‘wimpish’ Man Utd star after Carabao Cup exit as Amorim suffers another big injury blow

Rob McCarthy 20 Dec 2024 7:26 AM

Lisandro Martinez criticsed after Carabao Cup exit

Gary Neville hit out at two big Manchester United mistakes as Ruben Amorim’s men crashed out of the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage after an error-strewn 4-3 loss at Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday evening.

Spurs edged into a last-four meeting with Liverpool thanks to a double from Dominic Solanke, plus further strikes from Dejan Kulusevski and a goal direct from corner by skipper Son Heung-min in north London.

United, did, however, make a game of it from 3-0 down as they capitalised on two massive errors from Tottenham stopper Fraser Forster to make the home side sweat courtesy of Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo, before Son and Johnny Evans traded last blows.

But, commentating for Sky Sports, Neville was highly critical of the normally reliable Lisandro Martinez and Man Utd backup stopper Altay Bayindir for the role they played in the agonising loss for Amorim’s men.

The Red Devils were already a goal behind when Martinez tried to deal with a cross but could only flick the ball to Kulusevski, who made no mistake from inside the penalty area, while he also blamed Bayindir for Solanke’s first as the goalkeeper only parried a long-range Pedro Porro shot into Solanke’s path.

“I have to say the clearance from Lisandro Martinez is quite simply appalling. To play that straight to Kulusevski,” Neville said on Sky Sports. “He’s been let down by two poor mistakes, Ruben Amorim. He really has.

“You can talk about structure, shape, patterns tactics, but if your goalkeeper parries one out into the centre of the box and your centre back flicks one with the outside of his left boot…it’s a wimpish clearance.”

United also complained about what turned out to be Tottenham’s winner when Lucas Bergvall put an arm across Bayindir as he looked to deflect in Son’s corner, which flew straight over the Red Devils stopper and into the net. However, Neville was having none of it, adding: “It’s a mess, I’ve got no sympathy for goalkeepers that get pushed off the ball by defenders. He’s fuming but I still think he’s got to be stronger.”

Man Utd hit by further injury blow

There was more bad news for United during the contest though as Victor Lindelof limped out, suffering yet another injury problem on only his fourth start of the season.

“It is demoralising. You’ve been in the gym, worked hard, got back again then you break down in the first half. You just want to get off,” added Neville.

“You feel hopeless, like you don’t belong in the changing room. You can see that he’s upset, really upset.”

Speaking after the game, Amorim was at least pleased with the fight his side showed after going 3-0 down after a poor start to the second half.

He told Sky Sports: “We showed that in the past games also when we were losing in difficult moments.

“We disconnect in the beginning of the second half, it was a tough moment for us, like 10 minutes. And then we return, I think we did a great job.

“I think if you look at all the game, I think we were the best team but they [Spurs] were more clinical. We lose the game but the fight from the lads was really important for me.”

In terms of what he learned from the loss, Amorim reflected: “I will think about that tomorrow. Tonight I don’t feel nothing. There is nothing I can say to you. Tomorrow I will have a lot of things because I saw the game. Tonight we lost and we have to take a night to think and then tomorrow we will have a lot of good things from this game.”

Latest Man Utd news: Rashford says no to two moves / new wing-back on Amorim’s radar

Marcus Rashford has said he’s ready to take on a new challenge away from Manchester United, but a report has revealed he’s not interested in two potential moves.

The England international has been at the centre of speculation for months, which was amplified by Ruben Amorim’s decision to drop him from the Red Devils’ squad last weekend.

He was also left out of the League Cup loss against Spurs and the Daily Star reports that the forward is set to receive offers from the Saudi Pro League and Major League Soccer.

However, it’s claimed that Rashford is more inclined to remain in Europe when choosing his next move.

Meanwhile, Manchester United have learned if they can land Inter Milan wing-back Federico Dimarco, who is an experienced player in the sort of system utilised by Ruben Amorim.

It has been suggested that wing-back is the main role which needs to be addressed in January, particularly as left-back pair Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia have missed out on a lot of football of late.

According to Tuttosport, United have approached Inter Milan’s Dimarco.