Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has issued an apology to fans after his side suffered an embarrassing League Cup exit at the hands of fourth-tier Grimsby Town on Wednesday night.
United looked to have snatched a late reprieve when Harry Maguire’s 89th-minute header made it 2-2 after a dreadful opening half had left them trailing by two goals.
But the Red Devils’ fightback collapsed in a dramatic penalty shootout that ended 12-11 in Grimsby’s favour, with summer signing Bryan Mbeumo, who had earlier sparked United’s revival, striking the crossbar with his decisive effort.
The League Two side were full value for the victory, outplaying their Premier League opponents for large parts of the game and showing far greater determination.
Amorim hinted at deeper issues within the squad, telling reporters the players had “spoke really loud today what they want” – an apparent suggestion that some lacked the will to compete against lower-league opposition.
When pressed to explain United’s collapse, Amorim was blunt:
“Everything. The way we started the game, we were not even here. When everything is so important in our club, everything that happened, it’s a problem in our club, we should do so much better. I just have to say sorry to our fans.”
He added that the result reflected United’s wider problems rather than simply the shootout loss:
“Doesn’t matter (that we lost on penalties). In the penalties, the feeling is the same. I think football was really fair today. The best team won.”
The setback leaves the FA Cup as United’s only realistic route to silverware this season, with Amorim under increasing pressure after taking just one point from the opening two Premier League fixtures.
“I’m the manager. It should be my job to understand what happened. Again, I’m really sorry for our fans. Let’s focus on the next game. That is more than a result. That is the biggest problem in the team. I think it was really clear today,” he said.
A disjointed United also saw goalkeeper André Onana endure a nightmare evening, culpable for both Grimsby goals – beaten at his near post for the first and failing to deal with a cross that ex-United academy graduate Tyrell Warren converted for the second.
Amorim refused to single him out, however:
“It’s not about Andre. With all due respect. I already said that the best team won. But this is a fourth division team. It’s not the goalkeeper. It’s more than that.”
The Portuguese coach concluded by admitting his patience was wearing thin:
“It’s too much sometimes. You cannot change so much. You cannot change everything in one summer. You need to win games. You need to not show this kind of performance. I think this is a little bit the limit.”