United In Focus - Manchester United FC News

Manchester United drew another blank at Tottenham Hotspur and questions are being asked about striker Rasmus Hojlund.

Ruben Amorim was hoping to build on the FA Cup win over Leicester City as Manchester United travelled to take on Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

This ended up being another testing day for the United boss though as Amorim suffered another defeat.

United lost 1-0 to Tottenham as James Maddison’s first-half goal proved to be the winner in North London.

United lacked cutting edge in the final third to get back into the game with Alejandro Garnacho squandering a golden chance to equaliser.

Amorim watched on as United huffed and puffed but couldn’t find the net, handing him yet another defeat in the United hot seat.

Danish media react to Rasmus Hojlund display

United just haven’t scored enough goals this season, finding the net just 28 times in 25 Premier League games.

Garnacho is receiving criticism but he is far from alone with Rasmus Hojlund seriously struggling for goals.

The Dane has now gone 15 games without a goal and has only managed to score once in the Premier League under Amorim.

The hope was that Amorim would turn Hojlund into the new Viktor Gyokeres, but that really hasn’t happened yet.

United fans are concerned about Hojlund’s lack of progress this season and the Danish media share similar feelings.

Patrick Dorgu was praised for his display but BT rated Hojlund at just one out of six for his performance against Tottenham.

They suggested that Hojlund made ‘so many mistakes’ and a ‘cavalcade of bad decisions’, giving the ball away far too often.

BT did praise Hojlund’s effort and work rate but felt that the quality just wasn’t there with his performance against Spurs.

“A one-on-one duel against Ben Davies and a subsequent shot in the gloves of Vicario was where Rasmus Højlund’s evening peaked,” wrote BT.

“The rest of the match was unfortunately a cavalcade of bad decisions from our national team bombers. Højlund threw away balls in droves and made so many mistakes that he was not an asset to his team. At the same time, he was very rarely playable, which drew a few harsh words from Bruno Fernandes, who hardly looked like Højlund’s best friend during the 90 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“The will was there again from Højlund, but his level is just not high enough. At the same time, he was also surrounded by a team that played sluggishly for long periods of the match, which made his task almost impossible,” they added.

Rasmus Hojlund pressure mounting

United invested big money in signing Hojlund from Atalanta in 2023.

Everybody knew at the time that Hojlund – just a year removed from playing for Sturm Graz in Austria – was far from the finished product.

United saw Hojlund turn in some decent displays last season though and finishing the campaign with 16 goals in all competitions was a fine return.

Hojlund has failed to take the next step though and United are now being linked with others strikers – which could put the Dane in danger.

Dusan Vlahovic is on the United radar and with United needing to sell in order to bring in big names, Hojlund may well be on the chopping block.

The coming months will be crucial for Hojlund as he really needs to step up and show that he can really be United’s striker of the future rather than another expensive misfire.

Manchester United are having no luck on or off the pitch at the moment and that was apparent against Tottenham Hotspur.

The Red Devils were defeated by the LilyWhites in what was Manchester United’s 12th loss of the season, which sees them remain 15th in the table.

United had some bad performers against Spurs, but none got more stick than Casemiro, who was drafted in thanks to a midfield injury crisis for Ruben Amorim.

Casemiro was poor, but was it entirely his fault? Micah Richards thinks otherwise.

Micah Richards defends Casemiro and slams United centre-backs

The former Manchester City defender turned pundit actually defended the heavily criticised Brazilian.

“A lot of people are quick to call Casemiro, but he needs help in there [United’s midfield],” Richards said on Match of The Day 2. “His legs are not what they were, but he’s still got quality on the ball.”

Richards then went on to explain that the centre-backs did nothing to help the struggling Casemiro.

He continues: “When you play three at the back, the whole point is, one of your centre-backs should engage.

“They don’t engage, then you had Spurs players in the pockets, and you had three centre-halves doing nothing. Three centre-halves marking one player.”

Amorim’s system isn’t working with these players, and the disjointed relationship between midfield and defence is a major catalyst in this.

Manchester United disjointed, says Richards

Richards further touched on the flawed Amorim tactics against Spurs, indicating too many United players were operating as individuals, rather than as a unit.

Richards continued: “To top it off, look at the distance between Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro. They just didn’t get it right. Did he [Amorim] as Bruno to play to the right?

“You can get your structure in there, and if Fernandes is gonna jump, you need one of your centre-halves to jump as well.

“You’ve all got to work together, instead, they were working as individuals.”

He’d be absolutely right. Bruno was doing too much against Tottenham, whilst others weren’t doing enough. It was somewhat of a shambles.

Michael Owen has ruthlessly blasted three Manchester United players who played in the “easiest position on the pitch” against Tottenham on Sunday evening.

Ruben Amorim suffered another major headache on the weekend after Manchester United’s recent Premier League visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

United started off positively well against Spurs away from home, despite manager Ruben Amorim missing several first-team Red Devils players due to injury.

However, the Red Devils were placed on the back foot only 13 minutes into the Premier League tie after James Maddison broke the deadlock for Tottenham.

Amorim’s men were unable to pull themselves back into the contest and the 40-year-old United manager was left limited with his options to bring off the bench.

United now languish in 15th place in the Premier League table and the Red Devils have only managed to win eight matches in 25 fixtures in the 2024-25 campaign.

Amorim’s side are only 12 points clear of the relegation zone and United are now a mammoth 15 points adrift from the Premier League top four.

Owen singles out three Man Utd players

Ruben Amorim has remained firm on using his preferred tactical system, despite Manchester United’s inconsistent run of results under him.

The former Sporting CP boss has committed to playing with a three-man backline, with Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui playing in defence.

Harry Maguire was deployed as the left-sided centre-back for the Tottenham match after Lisandro Martinez suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury.

Matthijs de Ligt was the central defensive option and Noussair Mazraoui took his place out on the right, with Michael Owen left ‘frustrated’ with the defence.

Speaking on Premier League Productions, Owen accused the United trio of defenders of “sleeping” over their only major duty at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“What frustrates me more than anything about the Manchester United team is that those centre-halves do nothing during the game,” he said, as per the Metro.

“They hardly pick up any players at all, yet when you ask them to do one job – stop the guy who’s shooting – they’re sleeping at that as well.

“We’ve seen so many clips in the first half when there’s nobody to pick up, there’s three of them literally doing nothing. They won’t push in, they won’t go and mark anybody, they just sit there.”

Owen on Man Utd defence vs Spurs

United will not return to action until 22nd February when they travel away to Goodison Park for their Premier League clash against Everton.

Owen insisted that the likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui do “nothing” while their teammates are “outnumbered” on the pitch.

“It’s the easiest position on the pitch in theory because they’re asked to do nothing,” he added.

“The manager plays so many defenders and none of them are picking anyone up.

“The midfield for Manchester United has to be the hardest place to play in the Premier League and the defence should be the easiest because they literally mark no one, ever.

“They sit there doing nothing and everyone else is outnumbered all over the pitch.”

Manchester United are counting the cost of a defeat away at Tottenham at the end of a brutal week.

The 1-0 loss to Tottenham is the least of Manchester United’s worries right now. Amid serious financial troubles, an injury crisis is rearing it’s head.

Amad is now out for the season, following the Lisandro Martinez news, while long-term absentees Luke Shaw and Mason Mount remain out.

Kobbie Mainoo, Toby Collyer and Manuel Ugarte were all missing too through injury, while Christian Eriksen and Leny Yoro were absent through illness.

Manchester United players struggle

Manchester United lost 1-0 at Tottenham after a first half goal from James Maddison. United huffed and puffed, and lacked quality in the final third.

Speaking to MUTV, former Manchester United academy prospect Ben Thornley reflected on the loss, and praised the effort from the injury-hit squad.

Thornley said: “For United to lose with such a poor goal conceded in the in the first half, it is heartbreaking for them. They gave absolutely everything.

“Yes, there was a lack of quality on show from both sides, it has to be said. But there were really good positives to be taken from the way Manchester United performed.”

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One player Thornley was impressed by was forward Joshua Zirkzee, who was playing in a withdrawn forward role for the first time since his ill-fated start against Newcastle in December.

Thornley did have one complaint, suggesting Zirkzee was a little over-ambitious, perhaps referring to his shot from outside the box that missed the target.

He said: “Joshua Zirkzee, to be fair to him, if anything, he was probably looking a little bit over confident in some points of the game, but he certainly stood up and was counted today.”

United’s biggest chance fell to forward Alejandro Garnacho, who missed the target when one on one in the first half. Thornley felt the Argentine let his head drop too easily after wasting the opportunity.

He explained: “We did create chances, most notably the one in the first half that could have set the ball rolling for Manchester United, from Alejandro Garnacho, and that seemed to affect the way that he played the rest of the game, which is a shame.”

United need to get wins on the board

Manchester United are in a poor position in the Premier League table following the defeat, and cannot afford to suffer too many more losses.

Thornley added: “For United now, every single game that they play is critical. Next week at Everton, which will be difficult, and then Ipswich at home before March.

“It’s a perilous position that they’re in. We don’t think they’re going to go down. We’re pretty sure they’re not going to go down, but they certainly don’t want to be as close as this.”

Ruben Amorim left it late but eventually the Manchester United boss handed Chido Obi his senior debut against Tottenham.

Chido Obi was one of seven academy players on the bench as Manchester United lost 1-0 to Tottenham on Sunday afternoon.

Ruben Amorim had no choice but to put his faith in youth after a flurry of injuries throughout the week. Amad Diallo’s season is over following an ankle injury, while Kobbie Mainoo is out for six weeks.

After another disappointing start, Amorim was furious at United’s performance, but his tweaks at half-time resulted in a much-improved second-half display.

That was Amorim’s justification for not making substitutes – as he felt his side were closing in on goal. Ultimately, an equaliser never came, and Amorim turned to Obi for the final few minutes.

Chido Obi’s Man United move is justified

United knew that signing Chido Obi from Arsenal this summer was a major coup. The Danish forward’s record in youth football is nothing short of extraordinary.

The goals continued to flow following his move to Manchester with Obi scoring a hat-trick in United’s latest FA Youth Cup win over Chelsea.

The decision to leave Arsenal was controversial, but Obi was promised a first-team pathway at United by Ineos. United chiefs assured him he would be the third-choice striker behind Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, and that promise has been honoured.

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Obi replaced Casemiro in the 90th minute to make his senior debut – something that Arsenal weren’t willing to make happen anytime soon.

There was not enough time for Obi to make an impact on the scoreline, but he now has one foot in the first team and he will be hungry to get more minutes under his belt.

While Amorim waited to give Obi his debut, he did confirm that United’s youngsters will get plenty more opportunities this season.

After the full-time whistle, Amorim said: “They will play during this season. We will have games in the cup and Europe and they will play.

On Obi, Amorim added: “If you see Chido playing, he is clever with every ball lost in the box, so I wanted one more player.”

Zirkzee impressed in a No.10 position, meaning Obi could soon find himself as the second-choice striker behind only Hojlund.

After dominating youth football in United’s academy, the former Arsenal ace can now look forward to becoming a first-team regular.

Manchester United lost 1-0 away at Tottenham, capping a very difficult injury-hit week for Ruben Amorim’s side.

Entering Manchester United’s match-up with Tottenham, the Red Devils were rocked by awful news.

Amad was ruled out for the rest of the season with injury sustained in training at Carrington, leaving fans despondent.

Speaking post-match, unlucky head coach Ruben Amorim explained: “Amad Diallo is out for the rest of the season. He did a tackle, and his feet stuck in the grass.”

Amad was enjoying his best season at Manchester United and he was sorely missed in the loss at Tottenham.

Manchester United record vs Tottenham in 2024/25

Manchester United have played three matches against Tottenham in 2024/25, two in the Premier League and one in the Carabao Cup.

United have lost all three, and frustratingly, Amad did not start in any of them. He was overlooked in the first league game by Erik ten Hag, sent on in the 85th minute with the game already lost, United 3-0 down.

Ruben Amorim mistakenly rested Amad for the Cup game. United lost it 4-3, yet for the 35 minutes Amad was on the pitch, the Red Devils actually outscored Spurs 3-1, with the Ivorian scoring one goal and assisting another.

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And he was absent through injury for the third game. Somewhat remarkably despite losing these three games by a combined score of 8-3, during the time Amad was on the pitch in these three games, United had the edge.

Amad contribution to Manchester United in 2024/25

The numbers highlight Manchester United’s reliance on Amad this season. He has been key to almost everything good this team have produced.

While the team did create some chances against Spurs, only one was clear cut, with Alejandro Garnacho blazing over. And once again, United did not manage to score a goal.

Amad has scored nine goals and produced seven assists, recently becoming the first United player since Cristiano Ronaldo to score a hat-trick. He has shown that even from limited opportunities, he can be clinical and create moments of magic, netting against City and Liverpool.

Manchester United need more game changers. Somebody needs to step up following his season-ending injury.

Manchester United fell to yet another defeat on Sunday afternoon, losing 1-0 away at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Meetings between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United have often been with Champions League qualification in mind.

These two clubs, so used to battling it out for top four places, have endured difficult seasons and Sunday’s instalment featured struggling sides.

United fans had already witnessed two defeats to Tottenham this season; a harrowing loss at Old Trafford in September and a more recent Carabao Cup exit in December.

Sunday ended up being a third defeat to Spurs this season as James Maddison shrugged off Roy Keane’s criticism to score the only goal.

United created some great openings but just couldn’t find a goal, slumping to a 1-0 defeat in the capital.

Ruben Amorim on Chido Obi

Fingers may be pointed at Ruben Amorim but United’s preparations for the game were far from ideal.

Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte and Toby Collyer all suffered injuries whilst Amad confirmed a season-ending injury.

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That resulted in an unfamiliar midfield setup and a raft of untried teenagers on the United bench.

Only one of them made it onto the pitch though as Chido Obi was brought on with just minutes to play.

The teenage striker wasn’t able to find a leveller and United fans raged at Amorim over his lack of substitutions.

Obi was the one to get the nod and Amorim discussed the striker when speaking to Beanyman Sports after the full-time whistle.

Amorim suggested that Obi is ‘very clever’ inside the box and is particularly adept at making the most of loose balls around the goal.

Amorim didn’t feel a need to make changes from the bench but believed that Obi could ‘make the difference’ from any United balls into the box.

“If you see Chido playing, sometimes every ball lost in the box, he’s very clever, so I was trying to put one more player… because I felt the team was good during the game and I didn’t feel the need to change,” said Amorim.

“Chido was that player when, from a long ball, he could make the difference,” he added.

Chido Obi knocking on the door

We can understand the frustrations of United here.

Tottenham were there for the taking and Amorim left it until injury time to make a change.

Obi may only be 17 but he is making himself hard to ignore with his goalscoring exploits in the United youth setup.

Obi joined United from Arsenal over the summer and the hype around the teenager is already enormous.

Rasmus Hojlund isn’t exactly thriving right now and with Amorim preferring Joshua Zirkzee deeper, there may be chances for Obi in the coming months.

United fans wanted to see more of Obi on Sunday, but we will surely see him in first-team action before the season ends.

Ruben Amorim handed exciting young striker Chido Obi his senior debut in the final minutes of Manchester United’s defeat to Tottenham.

The 17-year-old was the only substitute made by Ruben Amorim during Manchester United’s 1-0 loss to Tottenham.

United suffered an injury crisis this week, leaving Amorim without Amad Diallo and Kobbie Mainoo among others.

As a result, Victor Lindelof was the only senior player on the bench with seven academy stars named as substitutes against Spurs.

Among them was Chido Obi, who has been in spectacular form for United’s academy since joining from Arsenal in the summer. As the Red Devils chased an equaliser in injury time, Obi came on to replace Casemiro.

Chido Obi thanks Ruben Amorim after Man United debut

Just three days ago, Obi scored a hat-trick against Chelsea in United’s 5-1 win over Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup.

It felt inevitable that Obi would make his debut this season after his domination in youth football. He was ready to step up, and clearly Amorim believes he is ready.

A few hours after making his debut, Obi took to Instagram to thank the club and Amorim for the opportunity.

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Alongside a collection of photos from the match, Obi wrote: “Disappointed with the loss. On a personal note thanks to the gaffer & the club for making a dream come true for me and my family”.

The post was quickly liked by several United stars including Patrick Dorgu, Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro, while January signing Ayden Heaven also shared the post to his story.

Chido Obi will get plenty of opportunities this season

It is clear that Obi is far too good to be stuck playing youth football and now he has a taste of first-team action he will be eager for more.

Amorim is extremely short of attacking options with Marcus Rashford and Antony out on loan, but that provides Obi with a golden opportunity to step up.

After the Spurs defeat, Amorim confirmed that the seven academy stars included in the travelling squad will get their opportunities this season.

“They will play during this season. We will have games in the cup and Europe and they will play,” Amorim said.

Next up on United’s fixture list is a trip to face Everton in the Premier League next Sunday. Amorim beat the Toffees 4-0 back in December but that was before David Moyes took charge.

Obi, and a few of his academy teammates, will be hoping to be involved once again.

Manchester United fans pulled no punches towards former Real Madrid star Casemiro after his performance against Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday evening.

Ruben Amorim’s men travelled to north London for their Premier League clash this weekend amid an injury crisis to the Manchester United first-team squad.

The 40-year-old United manager has been left deeply short of midfield options, with Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte and Toby Collyer all ruled out of action due to injury.

Casemiro has fallen down the pecking order at United under Amorim and the former Real Madrid player has been a shadow of his former self on the pitch.

Ahead of the Tottenham clash, the 32-year-old United defensive midfielder has netted three times in 24 matches in the 2024-25 campaign for the Red Devils.

Casemiro has managed 10 Premier League starts in 14 matches ahead of returning to the starting XI for United’s encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Brazil midfielder was deployed in the heart of midfield alongside Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro was left deeply exposed with his performance.

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Spurs struck in the first half through James Maddison and Ange Postecoglou’s men took a 1-0 lead into half-time, with Casemiro underwhelming in midfield.

Man Utd fans react to Casemiro vs Tottenham

Manchester United fans on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, slammed Casemiro for his poor midfield showing against Tottenham.

Red Devils supporters demanded for the Brazil midfielder to be sold this summer after his “dreadful” display and claimed he is “absolutely finished” at the top level.

Other United fans, on the other hand, also took aim at Casemiro’s “battery” and said he is “too slow now” to play in the middle of the park for Ruben Amorim’s side.

“Casemiro is dreadful. Get him out by any means necessary in the summer,” one fan said.

Another X user wrote: “You may as well lay an empty kit in the middle of the pitch as it would still be quicker than Casemiro moving about.”

“Casemiro absolutely finished at this level. Get on the kids,” a third tweeted.

Someone else commented: “Get Casemiro a one-way ticket somewhere. Jesus Christ.”

“Casemiro’s battery has run out. He is [an] NPC from this moment,” another posted.

While a sixth Red Devils supporter added: “Casemiro should know by now that he should be timing his sliding tackles. He’s too slow now.”

And a seventh fan suggested: “At this point, I’d throw Darren Fletcher in the midfield over Casemiro. He’s washed.”

An eighth said: “Casemiro is finished [and] offers nothing! Might as well be playing a man less.”

Casemiro’s display sums up Man Utd problems

Casemiro was tipped with a move away in the January transfer window and the United star was linked with clubs in both Saudi Arabia and Italy.

However, the United player has remained at Old Trafford and United are struggling to offload Casemiro, who is under contract until 2026, amid his hefty wages.

Casemiro’s poor offering in the first half was summed up by his reckless challenge on Spurs captain Son Heung-min and picking up a booking ahead of half-time.

The United midfielder started the second half while on a booking, with Amorim left extremely short of options to immediately replace Casemiro in the match.

Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglou both find themselves under huge pressure at Manchester United and Tottenham.

Both clubs entered the 2024/25 season aiming for a top-four finish. Yet, here we are in February and Sunday’s clash will see 14th face 15th in the Premier League.

Unlike Tottenham, Manchester United felt it was necessary to make a managerial change after their poor start to the campaign. Ruben Amorim has warned of relegation since joining United, and sadly that will be the aim until the season ends.

With a strong Premier League finish out of the equation, Amorim is focused on improving performances.

Amorim is stubbornly sticking to his style of play and trying to get his ideas across to an underperforming squad. In that sense, he sees a lot of himself in Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou.

Ruben Amorim compares himself to Ange Postecoglou

Like Ruben Amorim, Postecoglou is set in his ways. His Spurs side tends to play on the front foot with an extremely high defensive line. Many times this season, though, that has proven costly for the North Londoners.

One key difference between the two managers is their time in the job. Postecoglou joined Tottenham in the summer of 2023 whereas Amorim is just three months into his Man United project.

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Speaking to Sky Sports, Amorim also believes he can “change a lot” in games in order to help his side win – something that Postecoglou has been hesitant to do.

“I am a huge fan of Ange, and I told him that before the Carabao Cup game,” Amorim said. “I think he’s right, but I think I’m a coach that can change a lot to win games.

“But certain things I don’t compromise. That is clear for me, and I feel that with Ange it’s the same thing.

“If you look to all the coaches that are here in England, all the top coaches they are a little bit like that. In different areas, but they don’t compromise in certain things.

“I’m one of them.”

What happened last time Man United faced Tottenham?

Last time Amorim came head-to-head with Postecoglou, United suffered a dramatic 4-3 defeat to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup.

Altay Bayindir made a huge error against Spurs, allowing Son Heung-Min to score directly from a corner late on. United were in a period where they were struggling to handle set-pieces, but the Red Devils have worked hard to fix that flaw.

Joshua Zirkzee, Amad Diallo and Jonny Evans were all on the scoresheet last time out, but United will be without Amad until the end of the season after he suffered an ankle injury.

Scoring goals has been a problem in recent weeks, but United found openings against Tottenham last time out and the London side are just as low on confidence as Amorim’s side are.

Dominic Solanke scored twice for Spurs in the cup clash, so Amorim will be eager to keep him quiet this time around.