Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim fears team could return to bad habits after 'deserved' defeat against 10-man Everton

David Moyes claimed his first win as a visiting manager against Manchester United at the 18th attempt as 10-man Everton held on to a 1-0 victory, becoming the first team to win with 10 men at Old Trafford in the Premier League era. Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim said he wished his players had the same fight shown by the opposition following a loss which leaves his side 10th.

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Manchester United's 1-0 home defeat to 10-man Everton has reopened familiar wounds and raised sharper questions about the team's direction under Ruben Amorim, with the Portuguese manager admitting he fears his side showed signs of last season's failings on Monday night.

What should have been an opportunity to climb into the UEFA Champions League places instead became a night of frustration, regression, and another unwanted entry in the club's recent catalogue of grim statistics: never before in Premier League history had United lost at Old Trafford to an opponent reduced to 10 men.

Amorim did not sugarcoat the performance, offering a stinging assessment of where United stand in their supposed rebuilding process.

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"We deserved to lose," the United boss said afterwards.

"We are not there, not even near the point that we should be to fight for the best positions in the league. These five weeks everyone is praising our evolution. I'm always saying the same things. We are not even near the moment we're supposed to be in this club.

"I know which point we are at. I had the feeling during this run and I also talked about it. We have a lot to do.

"I feel afraid of returning to this feeling of last season. That is my biggest concern."

The defeat was made all the more galling by the nature of how Everton were reduced to 10 players.

Idrissa Gueye's dismissal after just 13 minutes, the consequence of slapping team-mate Michael Keane, should have provided United with a platform to control the game.

Instead, Everton dug in with a deep defensive block while United, predictable and blunt, played directly into their hands. Amorim, visibly exasperated, even admitted envy at Everton’s aggression and internal accountability.

"Fighting is not a bad thing," he insisted. "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."

He challenged his own players to show the same urgency: "I hope my players, when they lose the ball, they fight each other. That is a good feeling, not a bad feeling."

Idrissa Gueye clashes with team-mate Michael Keane

Image credit: Getty Images

Those words will linger as United return to Carrington, where Amorim expects an immediate response.

"Again, my players show in many games that we can do it," he said. "Today, we didn’t. We are going to be better in the future. Today, we are really frustrated. We have training tomorrow and we are going to prepare for the next one."

With United now sitting 10th and a trip to Crystal Palace looming on November 30, the mood around Old Trafford has shifted once again - from cautious optimism back to familiar anxiety.

The numbers told their own story. Without injured striker Benjamin Sesko, United resorted to 38 crosses - a tactic that played perfectly into Everton’s aerial strength.

Centre-back Matthijs de Ligt was frank in his post-match assessment.

Man Utd were unable to make the most of their numerical advantage

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"It’s quite clear. A bad night for us," he told MUTV. "70 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.

"From our side, we didn’t do enough. 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 basically played to their strengths. These are the main aspects, but we have to look at ourselves and it’s not good enough."

De Ligt's assessment echoed his manager's warning that pedestrian tendencies still linger as a bad habit.

"We’ve been away and trained for a while together," the Dutchman continued.

"I just think we lacked a bit of urgency in several situations. They get punished if you lack these urgency. If you don’t score, you lose this game. We lacked this hunger to make a difference on the most important moments."

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