Ruben Amorim frustrated by wasteful Man United

LONDON – Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim criticised his side’s lack of killer instinct, both in defence and attack, after blowing the lead against struggling West Ham United in a 1-1 home draw on Dec 4.

The Red Devils sit eighth in the Premier League, just two points outside the top four, but could have been in a far stronger position had they not also failed to capitalise on leads against Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest in recent weeks.

Amorim’s men also lost 1-0 at home to Everton despite playing against 10 men for almost the entire match in their previous game at Old Trafford.

“It’s frustrating, it’s angry. That’s it. We should have closed the game with the ball because the game was there to win,” said Amorim.

“The game was under control. We knew (we needed to) defend far from our box as any set-pieces can be a problem. We couldn’t do it, we couldn’t maintain the ball and again we lost two points.

“We are losing because of the second balls. Sometimes there’s not more men in front that you are going to win the ball. We had more men to put in the offence? Who? Who would be more offensive?”

United welcomed back Matheus Cunha from injury to bolster the United attack, but the hosts still lacked the invention and intensity required to break down the Hammers’ well-organised defence.

After a lacklustre first half, Diogo Dalot opened the scoring for United just before the hour mark, but Amorim cut a visibly frustrated figure after Soungoutou Magassa levelled from a corner seven minutes from time.

“I think the overall performance was not perfect. We had our moments but we lost control in the game in some minutes in the first half and in the second half, especially after the goal,” added the Portuguese.

“It is really frustrating because you look at the game, you have the game under control and we didn’t win.”

United captain Bruno Fernandes had two chances to snatch all three points in stoppage time but on both occasions lacked his normal composure with wild finishes that flew well over the bar.

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo, meanwhile, praised the combined efforts of his players.

“It was a very good performance, knowing that Old Trafford is always difficult. I think the boys overall in the whole game competed really well,” he said.

“We reacted from (conceding) a goal... but the reaction was really, really positive. Everybody, everybody, everybody worked very hard.” AFP, REUTERS