A 2-0 defeat last time out at Old Trafford ensured that Manchester United have now suffered four defeats in a row in all competitions, with manager Ruben Amorim likely thankful that the scoreline was not even more damning, following a first-half mauling at the hands of Newcastle United.
Indeed, it could be said that the Magpies somewhat let United off the hook in that breathless opening 30 minutes or so, with Alexander Isak dinking the ball into the grateful arms of Andre Onana when tearing in on goal, while a resurgent Sandro Tonali also somehow struck the post from close range.
Whether it was intentional or not, the visitors failed to truly stick the knife in amid their early dominance, although, with a trip to face Liverpool away at Anfield now next in store, the Merseysiders are unlikely to be so forgiving. That 7-0 hammering still lingers in the recent past.
On a positive note for Amorim, the Portuguese coach will be able to welcome back both Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes from suspension for the clash with Arne Slot’s side, ensuring there will be a much-needed midfield shake-up following the limp showing of the Casemiro and Christian Eriksen axis on Monday evening.
A team news update from the ex-Sporting CP boss also revealed that Marcus Rashford – who was back on the bench against Newcastle – is set to be absent from the matchday squad once again due to illness, with the 39-year-old left to ponder how he can reinvigorate an attacking unit that has now failed to score in three successive Premier League games.
With Fernandes now back and available, however, an easy solution could be for the influential skipper to come back into the side in place of Joshua Zirkzee, with the Dutchman having been the early victim of the away side’s rampant onslaught earlier this week.
Joshua Zirkzee's game in numbers vs Newcastle
The jeers and boss that rang out upon Zirkzee’s withdrawal on the half-hour mark will have left a bad taste in the mouth for some, with journalist Tyrone Marshall observing that the moment felt “pretty brutal” for United’s beleaguered summer signing.
As Gary Neville also noted on co-commentary for Sky Sports, it was hard not to “feel sorry” for the 23-year-old, with the £36.5m addition certainly not solely to blame for the club’s woes both against Newcastle and this season as a whole.
That being said, the manner of the former Bologna man’s performance – which ended abruptly following Kobbie Mainoo’s much-needed introduction – was frankly inexcusable, with the forward looking so at odds with the relentless nature of the opposition.
The 6 foot 4 enigma had been afforded the chance to impress in what looked to be an ideal position behind Hojlund in one of the two number ten berths – having admitted himself that he is more of a ‘nine and a half’ than an orthodox striker – although the limp nature of his display was stark, as he lost the ball seven times from just 15 touches and completed only three accurate passes.
There have been bright moments for Zirkzee this season, including his debut winner against Fulham and his clinical brace against Everton, but such outings have been more of an outlier than the norm, with Monday’s showing far more like what supporters and Amorim have come to expect.
Stat
Record
Minutes played
33
Touches
15
Pass accuracy
3/9 (33%)
Key passes
0
Shots
0
Possession lost
7x
Dribbles completed
0
Duels won
3/3
With just four goals to his name in 2024/25 thus far, the decision to fork out for a ‘striker’ who had only netted 11 league goals last season in Italy looks like a “spectacularly ill-judged” one, according to writer Sam Pilger, with it no surprise that rumours are already swirling regarding a swift return to Serie A.
Not that all the blame can be put solely at Zirkzee’s door, amid the club’s collective shortcomings, with teammate Lisandro Martinez another of those who deserves to be ousted from the side for the clash with Slot’s men.
Why Lisandro Martinez must be dropped vs Liverpool
Having overcome defeats to Brighton and Brentford at the start of 2022/23, Martinez was at the forefront of what was an encouraging first season at the club for both himself and manager Erik ten Hag, with the Argentine lauded as one of United’s “best signings… for years” by Patrice Evra.
Fast forward to the present day, however, and the diminutive left-footer – who only featured 14 times last term due to injury – has now put in a string of error-strewn displays at the back, having been branded “awful” of late by pundit Jamie Carragher.
As the ex-Liverpool hero also noted amid the loss to the Tynesiders, the World Cup winner has “been caught out more in a back three than he was in a (back) four”, with that coming despite a sense prior to Amorim’s arrival that he looked “perfect for a left centre-back [role] in a three”, in the words of Neville.
In truth, there are almost too many mistakes to count in recent times, with the former Ajax man particularly culpable for Isak’s opener at Old Trafford, having simply watched on as the towering Swede headed home from Lewis Hall’s cross.
Equally, who can forget Martinez’s tame clearance in the build-up to Dejan Kulusevski’s strike in the 4-3 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup, while he also failed to deal with Chris Wood’s looping header in the loss to Nottingham Forest – a game in which he was also far too easily out jumped by Nikola Milenkovic.
With Liverpool now to come, the 26-year-old – who was turned inside and out by Mohamed Salah in the 7-0 drubbing in March 2023 – could well need to be dropped to the bench, with such individual errors costing Amorim dearly at present.
It would be a bold call considering Martinez captained the side against Eddie Howe’s men in the absence of Fernandes, before being withdrawn late on, but the time may be now for Leny Yoro to earn a recall, with the Frenchman having, ironically, been a serious target for Liverpool over the summer.
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Much like with the case of Zirkzee, Martinez isn’t solely at fault for United’s woes, but with form needing to be found quickly, not even senior figures like himself should be safe from the axe.
As Amorim has repeatedly insisted, his idea and his plan are not going to change, it is the players who need to quickly adapt, or risk being left behind.
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