Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Top Man Utd stars accused of making ‘Under-12’ mistakes, with Amorim in charge of ‘rubbish’ side

Ruben Amorim Manchester United boss

Ruben Amorim is having a tough start to life at Man Utd

Two Manchester United stars have been heavily criticised for making ‘Under-12’ mistakes as Ruben Amorim’s side continue to struggle with their form domestically.

The Red Devils have taken just seven points from Amorim’s first six Premier League outings as manager and are currently only eight above the relegation zone and a whopping 20 behind leaders, and bitter rivals, Liverpool.

That woeful start to Amorim’s reign sees Man Utd sit 14th in the Premier League table, with the latest loss at Wolves compounded by Amorim’s side conceding a second goal direct from a corner in the space of just three games.

A flapping Andre Onana failed to keep out Matheus Cunha’s corner, just as Altay Bayindir did against Tottenham skipper Son-Heung-min in the Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat last week.

And former Chelsea and Celtic striker Chris Sutton has described the goalkeeping errors as ‘Under-12 stuff’ and says they will not help Amorim’s cause at Old Trafford.

United face an in-form Newcastle next on Monday night, and looking ahead to that game, Sutton told BBC Sport: “I said before Christmas that I thought Newcastle would hit their stride and they have done exactly that. The way they are playing, they should win at Old Trafford and make it four league wins in a row.

“Manchester United’s form is the exact opposite. I am not concerned about Amorim getting the sack but it really does not help when your goalkeeper keeps on conceding goals direct from a corner – that is under-12s stuff.

“I remember it happening when I was watching my son play when he was about 15 and he got done off a corner. I told him you would never see it happen to a professional goalkeeper, but it has happened twice in two weeks to Manchester United – first to Altay Bayindir and then Andre Onana. You could not make it up.”

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Sutton unimpressed by ‘rubbish’ Man Utd

Sutton was also critical of the current United as a whole, although he thinks it’s too early to lump Amorim into that argument.

He added: “I need to apologise here though, because I was far too kind to Manchester United last week when I said they would get a draw at Wolves.

“Their fans give me so much stick on social media whenever I say they will lose that it must have got to me a bit – I have become a bit of a chicken and have put them down to get a draw when my gut feeling has been for them to lose.

“That has got to stop, because they are rubbish. That is not on Amorim because we will judge him when he has a chance to bring in his own players but, for now, we have to see them for what they are, which is a really poor side.”

Meanwhile, Amorim was asked about his team’s problems against set-pieces after the Wolves defeat and said: “After a defeat, I don’t want to talk about that, but you can see that every corner nowadays is an opportunity.

“Sometimes you forget the small guys and the talented guys. You put 11 guys to corners or free-kicks if you can do everything inside the box. But those are the rules and we must not cry about it but do the same thing.

“So we have to focus on doing the same thing to the opponent. That is my goal at the moment.”

Latest Man Utd news: United tipped to move for Milan centre-back / PSG forward eyed

Manchester United could reignite their interest in AC Milan star Fikayo Tomori, as the centre-back has reportedly been transfer-listed by the Italian giants.

Tomori, 27, was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford in 2023 and was on their radar last summer, before they signed Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt.

TEAMtalk understands that Ruben Amorim is not against the idea of Man Utd signing another centre-back in January and that could end up being Tomori.

Meanwhile, United could reportedly replace Marcus Rashford with Paris Saint-Germain striker Randal Kolo Muani, if the Red Devils choose to sell the England star next month.

PSG and Barcelona have already ruled themselves out of the race for Rashford, but a number of clubs would be keen to sign him on loan if Man Utd agree to pay a portion of his wage, including Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.

According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, Man Utd could pursue a move for PSG striker Kolo Muani as a potential replacement for Rashford.

IN FOCUS – How long will Ruben Amorim last as Man Utd manager?