Man Utd are without a string of first-team players at the moment and Ruben Amorim has said the loss of three players is having a big impact.
United have struggled for creativity without Bryan Mbeumo and Amad(Image: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
Ruben Amorim has blamed Manchester United’s lack of creativity over Christmas on the absence of Bruno Fernandes, Amad and Bryan Mbeumo and said “any team in the world” would miss players of that quality. United have been without Amad and Mbeumo for the games against Aston Villa, Newcastle and Wolves after their Africa Cup of Nations call-ups, while Fernandes limped off at half-time at Villa Park and has missed the following two fixtures.
Amorim’s side have taken four points from those three games, but had to cling on to the Boxing Day win against Newcastle with a defensive rearguard in the second half. United have managed an expected goals (xG) tally of just 3.6 from those games and only 0.8 of that came against Wolves on Tuesday.
That dire draw against a team yet to win in the Premier League this season could prove costly in the race for Champions League football and Amorim will again be without his star trio at Leeds today as he bemoaned the misfortune of having them all unavailable at the same time.
“I don’t like to talk about that, it sounds like an excuse,” he said. “It was bad luck to lose Amad, Bryan, especially and Bruno at the same time. They had more creation in the opportunities than the rest of the team. If you lose the three of them at the same time, any team in the world will struggle.
“You have all the data and you can sense that three guys create most of the chances for us. And if you lose not one but all three at the same time, of course we are going to struggle. Then you have to put set pieces in that. Who is kicking the set pieces? Amad, Bryan and Bruno. So everything is combined and we just need to acknowledge that.
“And then it’s getting closer to having all these three players. The important thing is to understand why we struggled in the last three games in creation and quality in the game. I think it’s clear.”
Amorim’s in-game changes have again come under the microscope since the draw with Wolves. With the Stretford End calling for United to attack, Amorim replaced Ayden Heaven with Leny Yoro with 15 minutes to go. It was another risk-averse substitution but United do have a good record for scoring late goals this season and only Arsenal and Manchester City have more than their 33 goals in 19 league games.
“The first thing you spoke about is that we are creating and scoring more than most of the teams. That is a point,” said Amorim. “Then I understand the team better than anyone. And sometimes you have the supporters on your decisions. Sometimes you have to do what you think. And sometimes it’s hard for them to understand.
“But I know when I look at the pitch, I can understand which player is tired, which player is going to be is going to struggle a lot if there is a one against one all the time. And I just try to protect the team and just try to win games. And sometimes it’s the best substitution.
“Sometimes it’s the wrong substitution. But I just try to do my best. But you said that. I think there is one team that score more goals than us.
“We create a lot. We have more shots than anyone. So if we have something here completely different from last year is the way we attack. I think we need to improve the way we defend.”