RUBEN AMORIM fears that his Manchester United players are suffering from stage fright at the Theatre of Dreams.
But the Red Devils boss is praying it will be all right on the night when Rangers visit Old Trafford for this evening’s Battle of Britain.
Sunday’s 3-1 defeat by Brighton saw United sink to a new 131-year low.
It was their sixth loss from 12 home Prem games this season — and it was 1893-94 last time they made such a dismal start to a league season.
For the third time in the last five league matches at Old Trafford, they conceded a goal in the opening five minutes to put themselves on the back foot.
And Amorim knows that is something that cannot continue if they are to stop their campaign from going further downhill.
United looked to have turned a corner when they earned impressive results at two of the toughest venues – Liverpool and Arsenal – earlier this month.
Yet they followed that with an unconvincing home win over basement boys Southampton — and were then well beaten by the Seagulls three days later.
The former Sporting Lisbon coach said: “The way we play, we are too nervous with the ball. Too nervous and really anxious.
“That is clear. We are more nervous playing at home than away — because we lost a lot of games, like four games in five. So, it’s getting harder.
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“But we can improve. If we don’t suffer the first goal, like in the fourth minute. And I remember, it’s fourth minute, ten minutes . . . 15, then it’s really hard to calm down the team.
“So, the first thing in my mind is they cannot score early — we need to score the first one.”
United know a win over the Scottish giants could be enough to guarantee them a place in the Europa League last 16 in March.
So the message will be clear from Amorim — make sure you get the first goal.
He added: “If we score the first one, I think that will change and we will play better at home in the beginning.
“So, that’s it. It’s really clear. We are really anxious playing, especially at home. And we are suffering goals. Then it’s really hard.
“I didn’t say I was nervous. I said the team was nervous. I was just frustrated.
“But it’s clear for everybody that it’s getting harder to play at home.”
United centre-back Harry Maguire admits the team’s habit of conceding a goal early on in their home clashes is becoming a huge issue.
Man Utd ratings vs Brighton
By Ken Lawrence
ANDRE ONANA was back to his worst as Manchester United fell to another Old Trafford defeat.
It appeared Ruben Amorim’s side had turned a corner in recent weeks with a draw at Anfield and an FA Cup penalty shoot-out win at Arsenal.
But dreadful individual mistakes cost them yet again with Onana the chief culprit.
The keeper dropped a huge clanger as he palmed a simple cross straight to Georginio Rutter under no pressure whatsoever.
There were few positive notes for the Red Devils as Amad once again provided a spark.
Here is how SunSport’s Ken Lawrence rated the United display…
ANDRE ONANA: 2 – No chance with either of the Seagulls’ first two goals. But an awful howler to gift them their third.
MATTHIJS DE LIGT: 5 – Certainly doesn’t look like he likes players running at him as Kaoru Mitoma constantly did. Looked unsure of himself throughout.
HARRY MAGUIRE: 6 – The one member of United’s three-man central defence who looked like he knew what he was doing. Beginning to believe in himself again.
LENY YORO: 5 – The £52m youngster is still settling into the Premier League to be fair to him. But he is certainly taking his time about it.
NOUSSAIR MAZRAOUI: 4 – Has been one of the few consistent successes of Amorim’s tactical revolution. Yet he had a real shocker this time around.
MANUEL UGARTE: 5 – Supposedly “tired” in the 3-1 win over Southampton the midfielder looked brighter here. Yet he still doesn’t look that switched on.
KOBBIE MAINOO: 4 – Where is last season’s Kobbie? Looks nothing like the buzzing homegrown midfielder who burst on the scene last season.
DIOGO DALOT: 5 – Did his duties as a left wing-back to the best of his abilities. Another United player, however, who looked nothing like sharp enough.
AMAD DIALLO: 7 – Thursday night’s 12-minute treble hero on a high again – unlike, again, so many team-mates. Sometimes his footwork is just dazzling.
BRUNO FERNANDES: 6 – Ultra-cool from the spot but that goal didn’t do much to raise his performance level. Had one of those days where nothing really clicked.
JOSHUA ZIRKZEE: 5 – “Won” the penalty after being brought down although Carlos Baleba’s challenge would have looked good in a wrestling ring. There’s a footballer in there somewhere…
SUBS
ALEJANDRO GARNACHO (for Mainoo 64): 5 – Struggled to make an impact in a team that was being taken apart.
TOBY COLLYER (for Ugarte 64): 5 – Plenty of youthful commitment but still too inexperienced to lift a side as poor as Amorim’s.
ANTONY (for Mazraoui 84): 4 – Talk about a last throw of the dice by Amorim…
RASMUS HOJLUND (for Zirkzee 84): 4 – Given a thankless task in the closing moments of another depressing display.
Yet the England defender insists it is something that can easily be rectified as they are not being outplayed by their opponents.
The 31-year-old said: “We spoke about the first goal at Old Trafford.
“It’s not like teams are coming here and opening us up and tactically breaking us down.
“I think anybody who was at the game against Brighton would know it was a 50-50 game.
“It could have gone either way. We gave them a goal early on.
“We spoke about it in the pre-match. So we’ve got to stop giving away that first goal. That’s the first and foremost thing.
“The first goal against Nottingham Forest, against Bournemouth, was a set-play.
“The first goal against Southampton was also a set-play. So these aren’t things that are tactically a problem.
“These are things where you’ve got to go into the game and be focused and mentally ready to go and win a football match.”
Maguire feels that a couple of good results could soon turn the tide for United and does not feel there is much wrong.
He added: “Football matches are sometimes defined on small margins.
“At the moment, we are not getting them on small margins because we’re not mentally focused enough to make sure that we go our whole way.
“But we know things can turn around.
“Like the boss has said, this is a great opportunity to go out there, put on a performance and get a win then go into Sunday’s game at Fulham.
“We take each game as it comes, starting with this one — and it’s another opportunity to move on from Brighton.”
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