Man United: Ruben Amorim backs Leny Yoro to bounce back after demoralising Crystal Palace outing
Yoro is likely to start when Manchester United face West Ham tomorrow
Ruben Amorim has ordered Manchester United centre-half Leny Yoro to improve his body language after he looked visibly upset at giving away a penalty at Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The young defender was adjudged to have fouled Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in the first half, the France striker subsequently putting the home side ahead from the spot.
Yoro was taken off not long after Joshua Zirkzee had levelled for United and cut a forlorn figure on the bench.
And Mason Mount, the scorer of United’s winner, was seen consoling the 20-year-old at the final whistle.
Yoro, a £52.2million signing from Lille in July 2024, has struggled to adapt to the pressure of playing for United and Amorim says he will learn from his weekend experience.
“I spoke with him because he thinks too much, he makes a mistake and then he struggles,” said the Portuguese. “He wants to do everything so well. He’s growing, with games and with setbacks, it’s not easy for him as a young guy.
“He cannot show that to the people the way he came to the bench, he knows that. It shows he cares, he knows it wasn’t his best game. He is fit and ready for the next challenge.”
Cunha back for Man United
United host West Ham at Old Trafford tomorrow night with the home side boosted by the return of forward Matheus Cunha.
Cunha is another who has not yet hit top form in United colours but Amorim says his influence has been important.
He added: ”He has more levels to go. He’s at a different club, different pressure, he was struggling because he was not scoring and because of social media abuse, he was thinking too much about the numbers but the influence he has in the team is important to us.
“I think he has so much to grow offensively and defensively.”
Social media abuse was a prominent topic at the press conference with Amorim admitting he doesn’t use it to avoid unwanted criticism.
“It’s normal in any profession when you are exposed to it,” he said. “I don’t read it, I protect myself. I don’t watch TV when they are talking about Manchester United. Not because I don’t agree, a lot of the time I do, but it’s a way of me being healthy.
“My feeling as a coach is enough, I don’t need other feelings. The only way, there is no other way, is to protect myself.
“Of course, I lose money from sponsors. On Instagram I could earn a lot of money (but) for the protection of my family and living a normal life it is not worth some more dollars or pounds. It is not worth it.
“I protect myself and nobody can be tougher than me when we lose and when we don’t play well. Nowadays it’s really normal to have that abuse so it’s the only way to survive in this world.”
Harry Maguire and Benjamin Sesko will miss the West Ham game as expected, while two more unspecified players are major doubts.
“We have two doubts for the game but I will not tell you today,” said Amorim. “It will change the way we’re going to approach it, let’s see if they can play. The rest of the squad is good. Matheus [Cunha] is back. Harry [Maguire] and [Benjamin] Sesko are still out.”
United are seventh in the Premier League table ahead of tonight’s games.