Most Manchester United fans believed their team had no motivation left for the Premier League after a heavy 4-1 defeat against Newcastle. Meanwhile, as their manager stated, their full focus is now on Thursday night’s European match.

United will not face relegation despite currently sitting in 14th place after this loss. Amorim emphasized that all attention is on the Europa League return leg against Lyon, a tournament that could secure them a Champions League spot.

What made the 4-1 defeat against Newcastle even more bitter was Joshua Zirkzee’s injury. Fans had hoped he would recover in time for the Lyon match.

But Ruben Amorim dashed their hopes in a post-match interview, stating Zirkzee would miss several upcoming games.

The United manager said: “Why did I play Joshua tonight instead of resting him for the crucial Lyon match? Because we must rotate players. We only have two days to recover between matches. We also wanted to win this game. I needed all my best players, including Joshua.”

Amorim delivered more bad news: “Joshua Zirkzee will miss several matches. It’s unfortunate, but we must focus entirely on the Lyon game.”