MANCHESTER, England — Where to start with Manchester United?
Presented with the chance to prove they’re making real progress and move into the Premier League’s top four with a victory over an Everton side that had won just once at Old Trafford in the past 33 years, they inexplicably managed to slip to a calamitous 1-0 defeat. Everton even tried to sweeten the deal by playing with 10 men for 77 minutes after Idrissa Gueye’s ludicrous red card for slapping teammate Michael Keane.
United coach Ruben Amorim has been cautious during a run of five games unbeaten to say with any authority that his team has turned a corner. After a diabolical performance full of inexcusable errors, you can see why.
There was a point toward the end of the game, with United chasing an equalizer, that Amad Diallo raced to take a throw-in and was penalized for failing to realize he was still standing on the pitch. It says something when a team receiving a red card because their own players fought with each other on the pitch isn’t the most ridiculous thing that happened during the game. It was one of those nights that will live long in the memory of the United fans who booed loudly at the full-time whistle — just for all the wrong reasons.
“The feeling is frustration,” said Amorim. “Disappointment about the way we played the game. I think they were the better team. With 11, they defended really well. With 10 men, 70 minutes. So I think we deserved to lose. We didn’t play well. We didn’t play with the right intensity. That’s it.”
There have been some miserable days at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. This, though, was right up there.
United were poor even before Gueye’s red card. Everton kicked off without having won away from home since August, and yet for the first 10 minutes they outclassed Amorim’s team, making 14 successful passes in the final third compared with United’s one. The opening period of superiority should have been the highlight of Everton’s night.
Just when Everton coach David Moyes might have started to sense the possibility of a first win at Old Trafford as an away manager in 18 attempts, he watched as a miscommunication in the Everton penalty area between Gueye and Keane led to Bruno Fernandes having a shot on goal. While Fernandes appealed for a corner, Gueye charged toward Keane and appeared to slap his teammate in the face during the confrontation.
Referee Tony Harrington didn’t hesitate in brandishing a red card as Gueye had to be held back by Jordan Pickford and Iliman Ndiaye. Gueye later posted an apology on social media. That really should have been that, but somehow, United managed to get worse.
1:06
Berbatov: I wanted to fight my teammates every game
Dimitar Berbatov reacts to Idrissa Gueye’s bizarre red card after slapping his own teammate Michael Keane.
Just before the half-hour mark, Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall strolled forward and easily held off two weak challenges from Fernandes and Leny Yoro. It almost encouraged the midfielder to shoot, and he did so with a wonderful effort that flew past goalkeeper Senne Lammens and into the top corner.
Even then, an Everton victory looked unlikely. To their credit, however, Ndiaye and Jack Grealish worked like trojans on the flanks. Keane and James Tarkowski headed away cross after cross. Thierno Barry made himself a nuisance up front, and Pickford was inspired in goal. Amorim’s team finally started to create clear chances in the final 10 minutes and the England stopper was able to make full-stretch saves to keep out two Joshua Zirkzee headers.
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United’s night was summed up in the 92nd minute when the ball broke to Matthijs de Ligt in the box, but he could only scuff an effort that rolled harmlessly into Pickford’s arms. They ended the match with 25 shots but only six on target.
“It has been difficult to win here over the years,” said Moyes. “If you said tonight we would get a result with 10 [players] I would say that would be really tough. It was a brilliant performance from the players.
“I was a bit annoyed that [Gueye and Keane] were challenging each other, but I was also a bit pleased they were fighting each other because it showed me they cared. If we hadn’t got that fight or resilience, they would never have got through that game.”
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It was telling that in his own postmatch news conference, Amorim seemed almost jealous of the fight shown by Everton — even if it was expressed in the wrong way. “Fighting is not a bad thing,” he said. “Fighting doesn’t mean that they don’t like each other. Fighting is that you lose the ball, I will fight you because we will suffer a goal. That was my feeling when I watched.”
With the game falling on the one-year anniversary of Amorim’s first match in charge at Ipswich Town, his message to fans in the program was one of optimism. “We have a real opportunity to start making real progress in our season,” he wrote.
His words at the end of the night could not have been more different. “We are not even near the point that we should be to fight for the best positions in the league,” said Amorim. “These five weeks everyone is praising our evolution. I’m always saying the same things. We are not even near what the moment we’re supposed to be in this club.
“Today, we are really frustrated. We are going to be better in the future.”
And so, another opportunity for United to show they are taking meaningful steps forward, and another opportunity missed. Where to start with United, a club that always seems to be starting again?
