Manchester United’s stars have been pictured arriving to their training ground this morning, just hours after their embarrassing Carabao Cup exit at the hands of League Two side Grimsby Town.
United were eliminated in the second round 12-11 on penalties after an epic shoot-out, but they were lucky to even get that far following a dismal display.
First half goals from Charles Vernam and Tyrell Warren put the League Two side on course for a major shock – and they had a further two strikes disallowed – before Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire hit back.
There was a slight improvement in the second half from United, but when Mbeumo missed his spot kick, it capped another nadir in Ruben Amorim’s United tenure.
The squad arrived at their Carrington training ground at around 1AM this morning following the game and they were back in on Thursday to report for duty ahead of Saturday’s home clash against Burnley.
The likes of Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Mason Mount, Benjamin Sesko, Matthijs De Ligt and captain Bruno Fernandes were all seen driving in at 11AM after what proved to be an extremely difficult night for the club.
Man United’s stars have been pictured arriving to their training ground this morning, just hours after an embarrassing Carabao Cup exit at the hands of League Two side Grimsby Town
The likes of Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes were among the stars to report at 11AM
United boss Ruben Amorim was up bright and early and he arrived to training at around 7AM
The stars all looked extremely glum which is no surprise after Mbeumo and Cunha both missed penalties in the shoot-out.
Despite arriving on time, the players were significantly later than United boss Amorim.
The Portuguese coach, who appeared extremely frustrated and stressed at Grimsby, was seen rocking up four hours earlier at around 7AM.
Amorim has been heavily criticised in the aftermath of the defeat, and the United boss apologised to supporters before he aimed a dig at his under-fire players on Wednesday.
‘I just have to say sorry to our fans,’ said Amorim. ‘The way we started the game, we were not even here. When everything is so important in our club, everything that happened, it’s a problem in our club, we should do so much better.
‘In the penalties, the feeling is the same. I think football was really fair today – the best team won. It should be my job to understand what happened. Again, I’m really sorry for our fans.
‘The support that they have given me, always with all of the defeats they always help the team. Today I have nothing to say. I am really sorry. It’s too much sometimes.
‘I think the best team won, the only team that was on the pitch. The best players lose because one team can win against any group of players, and I think the team and the players spoke really loud today, so that’s it.’
The mood among United’s players as they arrived at Carrington seemed extremely sombre
Summer signing Matheus Cunha missed his penalty in what proved to be an epic shoot-out
Benjamin Sesko made his first start for United at Grimsby but was unable to turn the tide
Matthijs De Ligt will hope to bounce back with his team-mates against Burnley on Saturday
Having repeated several times that his United players ‘spoke really loud’, Amorim was asked what he meant by the comment.
‘I think it’s really clear what they spoke, so let’s move on from this day,’ he replied. ‘I think it was clear for everybody what happened today.
‘The way we start the game without any intensity, all the idea of the pressure, we were completely lost and that’s why I think they spoke really loud.
‘That is more than a result. That is the biggest problem in the team. I think it was really clear today.
‘You cannot change everything in one summer. You need to win games. You need to not show this kind of performance.
‘I think this is a little bit the limit. I think something has to change. In this moment, we need to focus on the weekend and then we have time to think.’
Amorim was also widely mocked for not watching the shoot-out and instead sitting in the back of the dugout, while midway through the second half he was seen shifting several small magnets on a tactics board when United were 2-0 down.
The defeat at Grimsby means the Red Devils have suffered two losses and one draw from three games so far this season.
