Manchester United’s fifth defeat in six Premier League games is ‘relegation form,’ according to Jamie Carragher.
The Red Devils were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle on Monday night at Old Trafford as their nightmare run of results under new manager Ruben Amorim continued.
Alexander Isak and Joelinton scored the goals within the first 20 minutes as the Magpies absolutely dominated the opening exchanges.
Things improved for the home team after the break but they rarely looked threatening themselves and could only stop the rot rather than really bounce back from the disastrous start.
Carragher blamed Amorim for his team selection as Casemiro and Christian Eriksen were tasked with manning central midfield and clearly did not have the legs to do so.
The Liverpool legend also pointed out that this run of results is the kind that could see the Red Devils sucked into a relegation battle.
‘We have been speaking about Eriksen and Casemiro on this show 18 months ago,’ Carragher said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football. ‘That’s on the manager.
‘These players can’t run. We know that. That is on the manager putting these two players in that position and in that system. It is a major flaw. These two players can’t cover it.
‘I’ve got no criticism at all with Eriksen or Casemiro. That is the manager’s fault. There is no way that plan could have worked in any way shape or form.’
Carragher added after the match: ‘The manager picked the wrong team. A lot of this is on the manager tonight. But right now it’s not just about the manager, Manchester United have lost five out of the last six. That’s relegation form.’
The former England defender added the lack of legs in the Manchester United team was not limited to central midfield and felt a defeat was obvious for the Red Devils from the off.
‘I didn’t think they would take a backward step and why would you?’ Carragher said of Newcastle. ‘They are playing a Man United team who are awful, in terrible form, lost the last home game 3-0 to Bournemouth.
‘As soon as I saw that team, you just looked at the lack of athleticism in their team – not just in central midfield. You look at centre-back, the front three, Zirkzeeup there, he can’t run, he can’t move. I just couldn’t see any way Manchester United could win that game.’
The five league defeats in December has seen the club lose a quintet of league matches in the same month since September 1962.
Amorim’s side are 14th in the Premier League table after the defeat, seven points above the relegation zone after Ipswich beat Chelsea on Monday night.
The manager told Sky Sports after the game: ‘It was really hard on us. They are a better team and they start very strong.
‘We don’t have the work behind the positions and the way we play to cope with the difficult moments. The players suffer a lot on the pitch and it was really hard on us. Like I said, Newcastle is a better team.’