Burno Fernandes explains frustration at team-mates, Ruben Amorim laments 'all the mistakes'
ByOli Gent
Updated 13/04/2025 at 23:01 GMT+1
Bruno Fernandes and Ruben Amorim both blamed "all the mistakes" made by Manchester United players as the Red Devils fell to a 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United at St James' Park. Joshua Zirkzee was at fault for the first goal, while Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui and Altay Bayindir all did not cover themselves in glory for the following strikes as the hosts climbed into fourth in the table.
'We need to be better' - Amorim laments Man Utd's 'mistakes' in heavy Newcastle defeat
Video credit: SNTV
Bruno Fernandes admitted that he was "frustrated" with his Manchester United team-mates after mistakes led to the Red Devils slipping to a 4-1 defeat at Newcastle United.
Bad errors cost the away side dear at St James’ Park, prompting Fernandes to cut a frustrated figure around the pitch, and the Portuguese international hung his head in disappointment after he was substituted late in the second half.
Joshua Zirkzee was at fault for Newcastle’s opening goal, failing to control a ball into his chest before looking to find Fernandes with a wayward pass across the defensive half, and the Dutchman’s sloppiness was punished by Sandro Tonali, who finished emphatically on the volley after Alexander Isak’s neat, lofted assist.
Diogo Dalot watched Valentino Livramento skip past him down the left as if he weren’t there for the second, with the England full-back firing a ball across the box, where Jacob Murphy was able to knock it back for Harvey Barnes steaming in to score.
Noussair Mazraoui slipped and gave possession straight to Barnes for number three, with the Newcastle left-winger driving through the heart of the United defence before slotting past Altay Bayindir.
Bruno Guimaraes completed the rout when the Turkish goalkeeper, making his first Premier League start after Andre Onana was left out of the squad, floated a loose pass into midfield, where Joelinton intercepted and fed Guimaraes, who slotted in the fourth.
Alejandro Garnacho had scored the equaliser in the first half to finish a clinical counter-attack from the visitors, when Dalot drove from inside his own half before feeding the Argentine, but that was United’s only bright moment on another dark day for Amorim.
Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Fernandes spoke of his frustration at his team-mates’ individual errors.
"My team-mates - I only get frustrated with them because I know how good they can be," Fernandes said.
"I know how tough it is to represent this club. They want so much to give to the club, to win, because they know how much they will be remembered if they win something with this club.
"On Thursday [against Lyon in the Europa League quarter-final second leg] we go forward, we create a big atmosphere in our stadium, we need to be on the front foot and give everything we have because we want to get to the semi-final.
"In tough moments we have done great performances against the biggest clubs. In decisive games, when everyone is watching. We are Man United, we have to step up and do everything to win the game."
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2025/04/12/4118495-83507553-2560-1440.jpg)
Cole: There is no club in Europe that would not want De Bruyne
Video credit: TNT Sports
Amorim lamented "all the mistakes" and conceded that Newcastle, who were missing manager Eddie Howe from the touchline through illness, "were stronger in second balls".
"We did a lot of mistakes that made it harder to win a game, that's all," the Manchester United manager said.
"It's a little bit of everything, it's hard to point to one thing. It's really hard to win against these top teams like Newcastle. When we make mistakes to help the opponent it's even harder. Let's focus on Thursday [against Lyon].I think you can see that we can do so much better. All the mistakes we made today, we cannot do on Thursday."
The Portuguese has overseen 21 Premier League games since he took over the reins at Old Trafford, and he has won just six times, losing 10.
Criticism is part and parcel of being the United boss, but Amorim asserted that he did not care about it.
"I understand [the criticism] but I don't care," he said.
"Nothing is worse than losing games. People can say whatever they want to say. I don't want to defend myself or anything like that. If you look at our position in the table, it says it all.
"Thursday is really important. Losing games is the hardest part by far of this job.
"It's an important game. It will be really hard. We have to focus on that and get to the next stage. We have a season a lot like that with difficult losses. We are used to getting up. Let's do that on Thursday.
"It's a different game. We need to give something to our fans and to go to the next stage."
Stream the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League live on TNT Sports and discovery+
React to this story
Share this article
Related Topics