Manchester United fans have turned against their English defender Chris Smalling, tearing him into pieces after staging what they termed as shambolic display against Newcastle United in the English Premier League match.
The Red Devils were beaten by a solitary goal that was scored by Matt Ritchie who handed the Magpies a win after a winless run at St. James Park dating to October 2017.
Jose Mourinho’s men fell for the first time to the Magpies after 6 years of impressive record over the newly promoted side. Manchester United manager has expressed his displeasure at how his defenders handled the situation.
Smalling gave a way a free kick which he and his teammates could rise to clear allowing Ritchie to fire a left-foot shot past helpless David De Gea.
Mourinho has brought his defenders into scrutiny. The Portuguese has chided his backline for being too casual in the way they handled the set piece. Smalling would then end up being booked for simulation in the second half of the game.
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It is this display that has sent Manchester United supporters on a ranting mode calling for the axe to fall on the English defender.
A twitter user known as Hesham Bilal Hafiz posted that if he were the coach, he wouldn’t hesitate to flash out the player.
He posted: “I’d terminate Smalling’s contract even if it cost us £15m. Would be the best money we could spend. #mufc”
Another who goes by the name United Xtra called the selection criteria into question arguing that it makes no sense for the coach to play Smalling ahead of summer signing Victor Lindelof or Marcos Rojo. A user called Brandon gave more description to highlight the flaws of the team. He posted that Mourinho only plays Lingard because he can meet his defensive roles, Lukaku fits being NFL player and Smalling is better off playing in Championship divoision.
While playing against Tottenham Hotspurs in Wembley, when Man United lost 2-0; Phil Jones blasted an own goal confirming the defensive fears for Jose Mourinho. Red Devils remain second in the league, trailing the league leaders by 16 points.