'You guys always talk about the system' – De Ligt says Man Utd players to blame, not Amorim

Matthijs de Ligt believes he and his Manchester United team-mates must take responsibility for the Red Devils' struggles, defending Ruben Amorim's tactical approach.

United were beaten 3-1 by Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, a result that leaves them 14th in the Premier League table with just seven points from six matches.

United are now winless in their last eight Premier League away games (two draws, six defeats), their worst run since another eight-match streak in 2019 (three draws, five losses).

They have also conceded the opening goal in 21 different Premier League games since Amorim took the reins last November, the most of any team in the division.

And since the Portuguese took the job, Tottenham (33) are the only ever-present Premier League club to earn fewer points than United's 34.

Amorim has attracted fierce criticism for a refusal to deviate from his preferred 3-4-3 system, but De Ligt does not believe that is the most important issue.

"Of course, it's always easy to look to the manager but, in the end, the players on the pitch have to do it," the defender said. "You guys always talk about the system.

"That also has a lot to do with focus, concentration and, if that's lacking in key moments, it's going to make a difference."

United's defeat to Brentford came after they beat Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford one week earlier, in a game that saw both teams reduced to 10 men.

But the Red Devils were trounced 3-0 by rivals Manchester City earlier this month, while they also exited the EFL Cup with an embarrassing penalty shoot-out defeat to Grimsby Town.

"If you lose this game, it's a big blow, obviously," De Ligt added. "A lot of times, it is the same song, but we have to stick together. It's the most important thing.

"We lost against City, we won against Chelsea, so for the next game, we have to analyse what went wrong in this game because a lot of things went wrong."