Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has hit out at his players for making a “frustrating” mistake against Brentford, which was worked on during the week.
Brentford sink United
United fell to a 3-1 defeat at the Gtech Community Stadium in what was their third loss of the 2025/26 Premier League season.
The Red Devils found themselves 2-0 down inside 20 minutes courtesy of an Igor Thiago brace.
Benjamin Sesko pulled one back for United in the 26th minute, offering some hope of a comeback. Bruno Fernandes had a chance to make it 2-2 from the penalty spot but was denied by Caoimhin Kelleher, before Mathias Jensen sealed the victory for the hosts in added time.
Following the match, a dejected Amorim singled out his players for failing to follow the plan and making the same mistakes rehearsed during the week.
Amorim gives verdict on the game
The Portuguese coach told reporters, “It’s always the same. When you win it’s not the system. When you lose it’s the system. I understand that. We played this game like Brentford wanted to play this game – with long balls, we kick the ball, second balls and we never settled down our game.”
“We never played our game, we never pushed the opponent and then we knew every time they recovered the ball, they will make a run and they will fight for the ball. We suffered two goals like that.”
“We managed to score one goal and then in the second half, I think the penalty could have changed things but overall view of the game: we never settled down. Long possessions, long control of the game, we were never there. So we lost.”
Asked why the players don’t seem to be grasping the basics after more than 30 Premier League games in charge, Amorim answered, “I know guys. We talk about this every time our team loses. We work on a lot of things. And again today, my biggest concern is that we didn’t settle in the game. In the final third, we missed a lot of crosses. We suffered goals in transition that we knew during the week and we worked on that. Those are the things that we need to improve.”
On how he can get his players to be consistent, “Work on everything. The frustration is that every goal…the goals we conceded today, we worked on that during the week and that is frustrating.”
“We can do better with the ball. We can have more control. We can understand that sometimes when the decisions are not in your favour, when the momentum is not in your favour, we can control the ball. We can settle the game down and that is something I know this team can do.
“But when things like the penalty, the foul are against us, we need to have more personality to calm the game down and then to play better.”
Regarding Nathan Collins’ last-man challenge on Mbeumo, Amorim revealed that the referee explained he didn’t issue a red card because Mbeumo was “not in control of the ball.”
Asked whether he still feels confident that he can turn things around, Amorim remarked, “It’s ups and downs. When you win, you feel that everything, the momentum is here. When you lose you go back to the same place. You fight for one win that can help you create momentum.”
“So, guys, I’m always doing my job. If I win I’m in a different state of mind. That is normal but I’m always confident because I know what to do.”
When asked if the players should share responsibility for the club’s struggles, Amorim stressed that it is his role to take the blame and focus on what’s best for the team.
Featured image Richard Pelham via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
