The real reason why Garnacho was abandoned is exposed! Amorim insists Manchester United can win against Liverpool and point out the key

Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho has been an academy ace in the past, Ten Hag's absolute mainstay, but has rarely started since Ruben Amorim took over. He was even left out of the Reds' derby matchday squad for last month's win over Manchester City, with the real reason allegedly being due to his disagreement with the manager and ignoring the opposition's demands.

Speaking after the Manchester derby game, Amorim told British media that Garnacho and Marcus Rashford had been left out because they had fallen short of his standards in many ways, including his choice of attire, the way he interacted with his team-mates and, of course, his performance on the pitch. Garnacho returned to the bench for the upcoming game but did not start.

The Daily Mail explained that Garnacho lost his place in the subsequent match in the Europa League before the game against Manchester City because he ignored the manager's tactical instructions. According to his account, in the Europa League victory with Plzen, Amorim gave orders in the technical area, and Garnacho ignored him and walked away with his back. Liverpool legend Souness mocked Manchester United, saying that the dressing room is full of disrespectful "snakes", players are always unable to stay calm, and some real manhood needs to be found.

Garnacho, 20, has denied disrespecting the manager, with the agent saying it was a misunderstanding. United declined to comment on this, with internal sources stressing that there was no conflict between Amorim and Garnacho, who improved his attitude and was given a chance to play again. Especially when the manager arranged for him to set up his tactics before he came out, he became more attentive.

However, Manchester United have also confirmed that Amorim has set strict standards for his players since he took over. Garnacho's performances have not been satisfactory, so his role and status have been downgraded, raising doubts about his long-term future at Manchester United. Garnacho is unhappy with his manager's approach and does not think he should miss the derby because he has scored regularly against Manchester City in the past.

The Argentina international has been largely confined to the bench in the last few games, and even in the game where Bruno Fernandes was suspended, Amorim opted for Zirkze. Of course, the appointment proved to be a failure, as the Dutch striker was substituted after 33 minutes, but it was not Garnacho who came off the bench, but Kobe Maynor.

Manchester United will travel to Liverpool this weekend in a game they are considered to be sure to lose. The Red Devils have not won nine games at Anfield, drawing four and losing five, and have scored just one goal and conceded 18 goals, the longest winless run since 1895.

However, Amorim had six days to prepare before the game, a rare long break between races, and he gained confidence. "We have more time to train and can train with the team for two days in a row. I think it helps the whole team. It was a difficult moment because we lost too many games and the next opponent was the best team of the last year. Through training, we feel better as a team, we have prepared more as a whole, and we hope to improve our performance compared to the last game."

On whether United can win, Amorim insisted: "In a football game, anything can happen. If you talk about the whole season, more often than not, the best team wins, and now Liverpool are better than us, but we are also capable of winning any game. We have to focus not on the past, but on the present, and we have to do our job and do the simple things well. We need to improve the simple aspects for these kinds of competitions and we have a responsibility to win them."

When asked what United need to focus on the most, Amorim replied: "Everything! The little details, the transitions, you can see in the first half of the last game, we didn't have control of the game when we had the ball, everyone was so anxious, so nervous. Crosses are really important, as are set-pieces. It's hard to say just one thing, we have to work on a lot of things. Possession, the way we control the tempo of the game, understanding where to play, will be the main focus this week."