Man Utd’s ‘complacency’ over Everton defeat will erode confidence in Ruben Amorim, says Gary Neville | Football news

Gary Neville said Manchester United’s performance in the 1-0 defeat to 10-man Everton “smacked of complacency” and would “erode confidence” in Ruben Amorim’s side.

United were booed at full time as Everton became the first team to win at Old Trafford in the Premier League after having a player sent off thanks to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s first-half strike which followed Idrissa Gueye being sent off for slapping teammate Michael Keane.

Neville says United, who could have finished fourth if they had won by three but remained 10th, “were nowhere near good enough” and “embarrassing at times” as their five-match unbeaten run came to an end.

“It’s like they had imagined in their head that they would take the Champions League places, and they thought maybe before the game,” Sky Sports pundit on the Gary Neville podcast said.

“It just smacked of complacency. They weren’t there from the start. It’s a bad thing for United.

“I think they have been much better in recent weeks. That probably takes us back to Brentford.

“You can’t go from the fight they showed in some games to this. It just erodes confidence, it erodes confidence.

“We’re trying to build trust in a manager, we’re trying to build trust in a team.

“The fans collectively booed at the end. It was loud, and rightly so. It was a very poor performance.

“It’s almost like you’ve taken two or three steps forward, everyone feels a little better about themselves, and you’re back to the beginning.

“You can lose football matches, but you can’t lose them like that. It’s not enough, it’s not acceptable.”

United were without summer signings Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko due to injury at Everton, with Amorim forced to go with Joshua Zirkzee up front, with the striker making his first start for the club since last April.

But Neville refused to accept this explanation, adding: “Forget [injuries to Sesko and Cunha]there is no excuse. This doesn’t interest me at all.

“Everton dominated them at 11 and 10, in a different way of domination, but they dominated them with their fight and their spirit.”

Carra: It’s a bad night for Amorim

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher says Amorim’s failure to adapt his approach after Everton’s sending off will raise serious questions about him.

“It’s a bad night for the manager. There was a lot of time left in this game. [after 10-man Everton went ahead].

“I don’t understand how you can stick to something so strongly in a situation like that when there’s only one guy up front who’s not really up front, you don’t need three players there.

“It’s one of those times where I think a lot of people are really going to question the manager following this defeat.

“They will look at the players, and we know the players should do better, but the manager will be largely responsible for tonight.”

Neville, speaking on co-commentary, criticized Amorim when he brought in Diogo Dalot to replace the struggling Patrick Dorgu and criticized Luke Shaw’s “ambling” effort.

“You have to show urgency and make the pitch as big as possible, and you have to put as many players as possible in the forward areas.

“You have Shaw, (Leny) Yoro and (Matthijs) De Ligt behind the ball. Shaw is moving forward more, but he is moving forward, let’s be clear. He has been bothering me for 20 minutes. He is moving forward, you can’t do that. He should be running forward every time, I don’t care.

“Yoro, do I have a little more sympathy for Shaw? It’s a waste of time. I don’t care. It’s a waste of time. It’s not ripping anyone off. I’m not having it.

“Ruben Amorim has a question to answer. Getting Dalot in there in front of Shaw? I can’t see it very well. You have five behind, why? They still don’t win the first or second ball. Embarrassing.

“It should be like the Alamo. Very quick side-to-side passes at a high pace, getting into good wide areas, putting in crosses, putting bodies in attack, supporting attacks.

“It’s very slow from United. There’s no presence in the box.”