The UEFA Champions League could have been a playground for Manchester United if they really wanted it. However, it is clear that they did not take that opportunity.
The 1-1 draw with West Ham United at Old Trafford continues to be another example of waste. There was a time when, when leading 1-0 thanks to Diogo Dalot's goal in the second half, Ruben Amorim's team temporarily climbed to fifth place, equal in points with Chelsea. But midfielder Soungoutou Magassa's 83rd-minute goal brought Man United back to earth, pushing them down to eighth place.
Amorim was cautious when asked whether his goal of qualifying for the Champions League this season was still realistic. The opportunities to rise have appeared consecutively in matches against Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton in recent weeks, but they have missed each time. And against West Ham, that familiar scenario was repeated.
Since leaving Sporting CP to move to Old Trafford a year ago, Amorim has faced a lot of pressure from a series of unstable results. But rarely did he show such obvious discomfort as this time. "D process" - he replied as soon as asked how he felt about the match.
This is exactly the type of game where the "Red Devils" have to learn how to win if they want to finish the season in the top 4. But unfortunately for Amorim, this was exactly the kind of game where they often had the most difficulties.
Coach Nuno Espirito Santo has organized West Ham tightly and smoothly. The away team seemed comfortable with a low defense, playing passively and giving up the ball. For most of the time, Man United seemed to not know what to do with that control. The ball was passed continuously and then passed back. The crosses into the penalty area were also easily neutralized by the white players.
Even if they score, it was still a moment of luck. Casemiro's cross-court shot hit Dalot, who made a typical touch to open the scoring. It was one of only four shots on target for Man United, despite having nearly 65% possession.
"I always feel like we need to score more goals. Even in the match against Brighton when we were 3-0 up, we had the same problem. We need to improve," Amorim admitted.
Sometimes this season, Man United have dropped points because they have lost control of the game. But in this match, the problem is different. West Ham only need 90 seconds of carelessness from the defense to punish them. It is no coincidence that Man United have only kept a clean sheet once since the beginning of the season.
First of all, Man United's defense could not handle a simple long ball, allowing the ball to bounce over center back Leny Yoro. From there, Jarrod Bowen rushed down to pick up the ball and unexpectedly brought West Ham a corner kick after a dispute with Noussair Mazraoui.
From this set piece, Bowen, who was only 1m75 tall, headed the ball into the next post. Although Mazraoui managed to clear the ball on the goal line, Magassa still appeared at the right time to kick the rebound, scoring the equalizer for West Ham.
The "Red Devils" made mistakes continuously and Amorim was clearly extremely angry. "The situation started from a long ball, they won the second ball even though there were 3 of us in front, so we need to do better. If we look at it carefully, we will completely control the situation. We can't let a team with such a height easily get such a corner kick" - the Portuguese captain said.
It's been a long time since Amorim has shown such anger in the press conference room. The last time was after a 3-1 defeat to Brighton in January, when he broke his golden rule. Amorim went into the dressing room right after the match and then, in a fit, broke a TV.
This time, he avoided meeting the players after the final whistle and said he would talk to the whole team at Carrington the next morning. Based on his current mood, they may have to prepare for an extreme stress.
