Ruben Amorim, the head coach of Manchester United, addressed the growing issue of leaked team news following his side’s 2-1 win over Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday. This victory marked a crucial return to form for Manchester United, as they defeated their city rivals at the Etihad Stadium. Bruno Fernandes’ penalty canceled out Josko Gvardiol’s opener, and Amad Diallo sealed the win with a last-minute goal in the 90th minute.
However, despite the exciting win, the match was overshadowed by the pre-match leak of the starting XI, which was revealed to the public before it was officially announced. Many fans had already speculated that Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho would not feature in the starting lineup, as their omission was exposed ahead of time. This leak caused frustration, as fans were aware of the team selection before the official announcement from the club.
In his post-match press conference, Amorim discussed the issue, expressing his concern about the leak. He admitted that it was becoming increasingly difficult to prevent such information from spreading, as many people within the club are involved in the communication process. Amorim mentioned that players often talk to agents, friends, and others, which makes it hard to keep such information confidential. Although he acknowledged the problem, he suggested that it was a reality of modern football that couldn’t easily be fixed. “It’s impossible to fix nowadays,” Amorim said. “It’s not a good thing but let’s move on and go to the next one.”
The leak was particularly concerning for Manchester United because it revealed that attacking players Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, both key figures in the squad, were left out of the starting XI for the match against City. This created a sense of uncertainty and frustration among supporters, as the team news was already public before the official announcement. Despite this, United secured the win, and Amorim focused on moving forward to the next challenge, suggesting that the issue would need to be dealt with in due course.