Manchester United lost 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in North London on Sunday evening, the club’s twelfth Premier League defeat of a traumatic season.
James Maddison bagged the all-important goal after Andre Onana could only parry a shot from Lucas Bergvall straight into the English midfielder’s path.
United were always in the game, though, and they will be frustrated not to have come away with at least a point, having missed some huge chances to score.
The Red Devils have been poor in the league, losing eight of their 14 matches under Ruben Amorim.
Unbelievably, the Old Trafford outfit has slumped to 15th in the table, with the hosts inflicting a third defeat on their beleaguered opponents this season.
Here are five talking points from another disappointing day for the record English champions.
Lack of goals proving a massive issue for Ruben Amorim
Recently, it feels like if United don’t score first, it will end in a loss, and so it proved on Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Amorim’s side created multiple opportunities after going behind but could not put the ball in the net as the chances went begging every time.
As frustrating as it is, it is certainly not an easy fix with players either out of form or unreliable to be a regular source of goals.
Highly rated teenager Chido Obi made his senior debut in the dying embers. But, as promising as the young man is, it’s unrealistic to expect a 17-year-old to be the man up front.
Inevitably, the need to try and recruit a consistent goalscorer in the summer transfer window is evident. However, these players don’t grow on trees, and financial constraints make it extremely difficult to buy someone of the requisite level.
Casemiro struggles in rare appearance
With United missing several key players in midfield following injuries to Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer, Amorim handed Casemiro a rare start.
The 32-year-old veteran has fallen in the pecking order but was selected to start alongside United skipper Bruno Fernandes.
Unfortunately, the former Real Madrid star was underwhelming in what can be described as a poor display overall, and he was booked in the first half for a reckless tackle on Heung-min Son.
While it was a needs-must to play the Brazilian midfielder on Sunday, his days in Manchester are surely numbered now despite having another year left on his current deal.
Zirkzee delivers an impressive display
One of the few bright spots for United against Ange Postecoglu’s men was the performance of Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee.
The 23-year-old played in an attacking midfield role but pushed up to support lone striker Rasmus Hojlund at every opportunity.
The former Bologna man knitted play together nicely and was a constant threat – showing confidence in possession and an ability to glide past opponents, creating several openings for his team.
With an injury crisis currently ravaging the Reds’ squad, it likely won’t be the last time we see Zirkzee and Hojlund named in the starting XI together.
Hopefully, both men can develop a connection that can lead to goals.
Injury curse strikes again at Carrington
It’s been a theme in recent years that United suffered vast amounts of injuries on more than one occasion.
Many feel as though the club has been cursed with bad luck following these medical issues, and Amorim experienced this for the first time this week.
He lost Ugarte, Mainoo and Amad in training, with the latter ruled out for the rest of the campaign through a serious ankle problem.
This follows the blow of losing defensive talisman Lisandro Martinez to long-term absence after undergoing surgery on his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL).
It is a huge blow for the 20-time champions to lose so many players all at once, and we can only hope they don’t suffer many more injuries between now and the end of May.
Dorgu does well on his second start for the club
It was another solid outing for new boy Patrick Dorgu – who made his second appearance following a January move from Italian side Lecce.
The Danish defender began in the left wing-back position, and after starting on the opposite flank last weekend on his debut against Leicester, it seemed to work better for the youngster this time out.
Dorgu was good defensively and broke forward at every possible opportunity. Whilst he didn’t get on the ball as often as he would have liked, the 20-year-old was always an outlet for his teammates.
He won an impressive seven of his eight ground duels -and came out on top in the one aerial challenge he contested.
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