Amorim fires extraordinary blast at Rashford and says he’d rather put 63-YEAR-OLD coach on Man Utd bench ahead of him
RUBEN AMORIM launched a scathing attack on Marcus Rashford by claiming he would rather name his goalkeeping coach as a Manchester United sub.
Rashford was again left out of Amorim’s squad for last night’s win at Fulham, courtesy of Lisandro Martinez’s deflected strike.
The boss blasted Rashford’s lack of effort in training and said 63- year-old Jorge Vital would be more deserving of a place on the bench.
Asked directly about Rashford’s absence, Amorim said: “I’d put Vital on the bench before a player who doesn’t give the maximum every day. I’ll not change in that department.
“It’s always the same reason. The reason is the training. The way that I see what a footballer should do in training, in life, every day. If things don’t change, I will not change.
“Same situation for every player — if you do the maximum, if you do the right things, we can use every player.
“You can see it today on the bench. We needed pace to change the game, to move some pieces — but I prefer it like that.”
Rashford has been a loan target for Borussia Dortmund, Monaco and AC Milan, although he would prefer a move to cash-strapped Barcelona.
He has not played for Amorim since a 2-1 win at Viktoria Plzen on December 12 and has not been in a squad since a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle on December 30.
Rashford posted on Instagram after Sunday’s win, saying: “Congratulations on the win lads.”
Martinez got a deflected 78th-minute winner — lifting United up to 12th.
But fans turned on co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who was sat in the stands at Craven Cottage by chanting: “Just like the Glazers, Jim Ratcliffe’s a c****”.
Ratcliffe has raised Old Trafford ticket prices for members to £66 in December — including kids and OAPs — and said it did not make sense for Fulham to be charging more than United.
Incredibly, Fulham charged up to £150 for tickets yesterday — with dozens of Red Devils fans celebrating Martinez’s goal in home sections.
Ratcliffe has been trying to generate more revenue while United battle to stay in line with Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Asked about transfer plans after last night’s win, boss Ruben Amorim admitted he needs “a lot of help to improve”.
But he said: “We have to be cautious. We have to follow the rules and we have done mistakes in the past we can not do now, we have to focus on the team. We need to focus on the players that we have.
“We lack some pace and power up front. We need to create more chances, we struggle a lot in these details, but we need a lot of help to improve.”
“Not a great game, no great chances. We tried to control our game and play our game but we need to improve a lot.”
Fulham chief Marco Silva said: “It was cruel for us — their first shot was in the 78th minute. It was a really lucky goal. The result was unfair.”
MAN UTD PLAYER RATINGS: Maguire puts in superb defensive display but Garnacho caught running into blind alleys
MANCHESTER UNITED secured a hard-fought three points against Fulham.
Lisandro Martinez’s deflected strike proved to be the difference in what was the Red Devils’ only shot on target all game.
Harry Maguire impressed but Alejandro Garnacho once again failed to impress in what could have been his Man Utd farewell amid rumours linking him with Napoli and Chelsea.
Here is how SunSport rated the individual performances.
Andre Onana – 7
Good save low down to his left to keep out an Alex Iwobi shot early doors.
Other than that he was barely tested but no glaring errors mean it is a step in the right direction for the Red Devils No1.
Diogo Dalot – 6
Had a difficult time in the first half up against Iwobi who was Fulham‘s main attacking threat.
Switched to the left flank in the second half and supported Garnacho without posing much of a threat.
Matthijs de Ligt – 8
Another strong showing at the back from the Dutchman. Without his support for Dalot, Fulham may have created a goal down United’s right-hand side.
Harry Maguire – 9
A superb defensive display from the England star who has been one of United’s best players since Amorim took charge.
Pulled off a brilliant header at the back post to deny Rodrigo Muniz a certain goal.
Lisandro Martinez – 8
Superb last-ditch tackle to prevent Emile Smith Rowe from shooting as he burst through on goal.
His goal had a big slice of luck as it was deflected past Bernd Leno but credit to him for having the audacity to shoot.
Noussair Mazraoui – 7
Solid at the back and tried to get forward when he could. United looked more balance with him on the left and Dalot on the right, although the pair swapped at half-time.
Manuel Ugarte – 6
Showed some nice touches and was a bit of a menace in the middle – in a positive and negative sense. Kept a close eye on Smith Rowe and allowed him no time on the ball.
Booked for a foul on Adama Traore and was taken off shortly afterwards with an injury.
Bruno Fernandes – 5
Not at his best. Barely saw the ball in the first half and was not very effective when he did get it.
Amad Diallo – 6
Looked bright on the ball and United’s only real outlet going forward.
He worked tirelessly and pressed really well – his hard work paid off when he found the back of the net in stoppage time but his effort was chalked off.
Alejandro Garnacho – 3
Was cautious on the ball and ran into blind alleys too often. Final ball let him down on the rare occasion he did manage to beat a defender.
Rasmus Hojlund – 4
His hold up play is nowhere near good enough for this system or for a club like United.
He was too gung-ho at times and his erratic nature meant linking up with Amad and Garnacho proved difficult.
Hauled off before the hour mark which says it all about his performance.
Subs:
Leny Yoro (for De Ligt, 58mins) – 6
A more assured display given his shaky start to life in the Premier League.
Joshua Zirkzee (for Hojlund, 58mins) – 5
Like Hojlund he had a difficult time holding the ball up but United improved with him on the pitch.
Toby Collyer (for Ugarte, 76mins ) – 6
Solid display again from the youngster who was often in the right position to clear, including one on the line to stop a Joachim Andersen header from going in.
Kobbie Mainoo (for Garnacho, 80mins) – 6
Provided energy in midfield and shored things up alongside Collyer.
A brilliant one-two with Amad set up the winger to score before VAR ruled Amad offside.
Tyrell Malacia (for Mazraoui, 80mins) – 6
Brought on in an unfamiliar right wing-back role but did what was needed to see out the clean sheet.