“I don’t understand how” – Carragher lambasts Amorim who has done something he has never seen before

Jamie Carragher was left astonished by Ruben Amorim, who stuck to his guns until the final whistle as Manchester United suffered an embarrassing defeat to Everton.

The Red Devils hosted David Moyes’ men at Old Trafford on Monday evening, and the visitors gave them a valuable gift when Idrissa Gueye was sent off for slapping his own teammate, Michael Keane, in the early stages of the match.

With a numerical advantage for the bulk of the contest, few would have thought that MUFC would be incapable of scoring a single goal in front of their home supporters.

And yet, this turned out to be the case, as Joshua Zirkzee and Co. failed to make the most out of their chances, so Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s long-range effort in the first half turned out to be the winner.

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

While Amorim tried to ring the changes during the match and bring in more attacking-minded players, like Mason Mount and Kobbie Mainoo for Noussair Mazraoui and Casemiro, his famous 3-4-2-1 system remained intact.

Therefore, Carragher identified the Portuguese as the only manager he has ever seen who refuses to alter his formation, regardless of the circumstances.

“Ruben Amorim feels like the first manager whom I’ve seen, who sticks with the system rather than an idea on how to play,” said the Liverpool legend during his post-match appearance on Sky Sports .

“Using you (Roberto Martinez) as a reference, I always know how your team will play. The formation might change, but Ruben Amorim is like, the formation is his baby, and to not change it or alter it in situations like that… I don’t understand how you can stick to something so steadfastly in a situation like that, when it’s basically one guy upfront, and he’s not really upfront.”

– Monday, 24 November 2025

Similar to Talksport journalist Alex Crook, Carragher insisted that Amorim should have taken off one of his three defenders (Yoro, De Ligt and Shaw), in favour of an additional midfielder or attacker.

“You don’t need three players there. If you want to keep your system, many would put midfield players in there, because you want to have so much more of the ball.”

While Amorim’s reputation has been on the up in recent weeks, Carragher believes that this result will blemish the momentum he built and put him under great scrutiny once more.

“I actually think it’s not losing the three points, you can make up for it throughout the season. I think it’s one of those moments when a lot of people will question the manager on the back of that defeat.

“We look at the players, and we know they should do better, but the manager will take a lot of the blame tonight.”

In his interviews, Amorim consistently argues that his playing system isn’t as rigid as people make it sound, as the players often change their placements all over the pitch. However, perhaps he could have kept Casemiro a bit longer on the pitch instead of one of the defenders.

That being said, it should be mentioned that the 40-year-old didn’t have too many inspiring options on the bench in the absence of Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko.