Ruben Amorim insisted he was right to drop Marcus Rashford from the Manchester United squad despite going out of the Carabao Cup at the quarterfinal stage following a 4-3 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Rashford was left out of Amorim's squad for the second game in a row after he was also dropped for the 2-1 win over Manchester City on Sunday.
The 27-year-old suggested in an interview Tuesday that he wants to leave the club. Asked afterward whether Spurs' victory made him rethink his stance on the England forward, Amorim said he stood by his decision.
"I feel that I do the right thing for the team so it's never a mistake," the United head coach said. "We have to make a selection. I think it wasn't a mistake because I'm always doing the best for the team in my way of seeing things."
Without Rashford, United briefly recovered from 3-0 down to make it 3-2 thanks to two errors from goalkeeper Fraser Forster. Spurs made it 4-2 before Jonny Evans scored a late consolation and Ange Postecoglou's side held on to book a semifinal spot against Liverpool.
Ruben Amorim's Manchester United side lost to Tottenham in the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup on Thursday.
Amorim, meanwhile, was left to rue an eight-minute period at the start of the second half during which Spurs scored twice.
"We control the possession I think," Amorim said. "We were not the best team in all of the game, but for most of the parts I think we were the best team. I think we disconnect for eight minutes and it is really hard to recover from that. The lads did a great job to recover.
"We still had time to win the game, but the fourth goal was really hard for us. In the end it was not enough and we're out of the cup."
It was a difficult night for both goalkeepers with United's No.2 Altay Bayindir -- handed a rare start ahead of André Onana -- at fault for two goals. Forster's mistakes were more embarrassing, particularly the second when he took too long with a back pass and was charged down by Amad Diallo.
"He is disappointed because he was outstanding for us," Postecoglou said. "Even before then in the first half I thought he was really good with his feet, he found some great solutions.
"The first one probably affected his confidence a little bit and he lost a bit of belief and the second one compounded it. But he is a big boy and he is another one who has stood up for us big time in this period. I can't speak highly enough of this group of players."
Tottenham host Liverpool in their semifinal first leg on the weekend of Jan. 6, while Newcastle will travel to face Arsenal at The Emirates.
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
