‘We Played to Their Strengths’ – Matthijs de Ligt Appears to Question Ruben Amorim’s Tactics After Man Utd’s Damaging Loss to 10-Man Everton

Matthijs de Ligt Questions Tactics as Man Utd Collapse Against 10-Man Everton

When a club the size of Manchester United spends more than 80 minutes playing against 10 men at Old Trafford, you expect one outcome. Dominance. Control. Pressure. Goals. Instead, United walked off to a chorus of frustration and disbelief after falling 1–0 to Everton — a result that not only snapped their five-game unbeaten Premier League run, but also sent them spiralling down to 10th in the table, a full 11 points behind leaders Arsenal.

And judging by his post-match comments, Matthijs de Ligt didn’t bother sugar-coating the disaster. The Dutchman sounded as baffled as anyone watching in the stands, and his words suggested a deeper issue: this was not just a bad performance — it was a tactical failure.

United had the advantage, the possession, and the opportunity. Everton had 10 men after Idrissa Gueye’s chaotic clash with teammate Michael Keane inexplicably earned him a red card. They also lost captain Seamus Coleman to injury inside 10 minutes. Yet Everton — wounded, stretched, and scrambling — found a way to score through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and defend with astonishing resolve for the remaining hour.

United, meanwhile, played right into their hands.

Amorim’s Tactics Under the Microscope

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There is a growing trend in English football: when teams go down to 10 players, they tighten, defend compactly, and force opponents to break them down with patience and movement. United… did the opposite.

Instead of attacking space, making runs from deep, and stretching Everton horizontally, the Red Devils hammered the box with long balls and hopeful crosses. Thirty-eight crosses, to be exact — most of them easily gobbled up by Everton’s towering centre-backs.

Without Benjamin Sesko, there was no true aerial presence. United’s forwards rarely attacked the space behind the defence. The midfield didn’t produce the late runs needed to disrupt Everton’s shape. And the team, as De Ligt admitted, lacked urgency.

Everton, with fewer players, seemed more organised. United, with every advantage, seemed to lose their plan.

Amorim’s system relies on verticality, quick rotations, and wide overloads. Against a deep block, though, his team appeared short of ideas — and painfully predictable.

‘A Bad Night for Us’: De Ligt Pulls No Punches

Arsenal FC v Manchester United FC – Premier League

De Ligt’s interview with MUTV felt almost uncharacteristically blunt for a player who rarely criticises publicly. But sometimes the performance leaves no room for diplomacy.

“It’s quite clear. A bad night for us,” he said. “Seventy minutes more or less 11 vs 10, conceded a goal and not creating many chances. A few, but not enough for a match against 10. A disappointing night.”

Then came the line that echoed through the fanbase:

“We basically played to their strengths.”

For a team with United’s attacking talent — Rashford, Fernandes, Garnacho, Højlund — that statement hits hard. Instead of exploiting space, United launched aimless balls toward a defensive line built to deal with exactly that.

De Ligt added:

“We didn’t make the runs or bodies into the box. They are strong in the air so we didn’t have the players to score from that… We lacked urgency in several situations. If you don’t score, you lose this game. We lacked the hunger to make a difference.”

It was not just frustration — it was a strategic critique, delivered calmly, but firmly.

Amorim Makes ‘Afraid’ Admission After Damaging Defeat

Ruben Amorim, to his credit, didn’t attempt to mask the reality either.

“I think they were a better team with 11,” he admitted. “They worked really well with 10 men for 70 minutes. So I think we deserved to lose. We didn’t play well. We didn’t play with the right intensity.”

But it was his next admission that felt most revealing:

“I feel afraid of returning to this feeling of last season.”

For a manager only months into his Premier League career, acknowledging fear publicly is rare. It speaks volumes about the pressure he feels — and the burden of expectation at a club where patience is always thinner than it should be.

Amorim insisted he was not going anywhere and promised an immediate response in training, but the undertone was clear: he knows the margin for error is evaporating.

United’s Missed Opportunity and the Road Ahead

This loss didn’t happen in isolation — it happened during a weekend when rivals dropped points. Manchester City. Liverpool. Tottenham. Aston Villa. All left openings in the table.

A win would’ve put United in the mix for the top five. Instead, the Red Devils now look miles off the Champions League pace, and the performances are raising more questions than the results themselves.

Crystal Palace await next at Selhurst Park — and under Oliver Glasner, they’ve become one of the Premier League’s most disciplined, aggressively structured sides. If Everton caused United problems with 10 men, Palace will offer just as stern a challenge.

Lose again, and the pressure on Amorim will intensify sharply.

A Club Searching for Identity — Again

United have been here before: promising run, a touch of optimism, then a jarring defeat that exposes structural flaws. This time, though, the concerns feel sharper. The team lacks consistency. Lacks decisiveness. Lacks, in De Ligt’s words, urgency.

Most worryingly, they lacked a plan against 10 men — and that speaks to bigger tactical issues Amorim must solve quickly.

For now, the spotlight remains firmly on the manager. But the players — and their willingness to take responsibility in moments that matter — will face scrutiny too.

Amorim says he is not going anywhere.
De Ligt says the team must look at themselves.
United fans say they’re tired of nights like this.

Sunday at Selhurst Park suddenly feels like a turning point. One direction leads to stability. The other leads to another crisis.

And at Manchester United, the margins between the two have rarely been thinner.