Injury hit Man Utd 'short on quality', Amorim claims

Ruben Amorim, the Manchester United manager, stated that his team "was short on quality" in their attempt to defeat a Wolverhampton Wanderers outfit yet to claim a Premier League victory this term, delivering yet another setback to their hopes of Champions League involvement next year.

Wolves picked up only their third point of the season and halted a run of 12 successive defeats when Ladislav Krejci's headed effort levelled Joshua Zirkzee's fortuitous opening goal, resulting in a 1-1 stalemate at Old Trafford.

Manchester United were deprived of captain Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount and Kobbie Mainoo owing to injuries, with Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo sidelined for the Africa Cup of Nations.

"We lack smoothness, then quality, followed by chance creation, and end up conceding from a dead ball," Amorim remarked.

"These small elements prove crucial for prevailing in such challenging fixtures."

Manchester United stay two points shy of the top four, holding sixth place.

Yet they might have been primed for a comeback to elite European competition next season, were it not for dropping points in four of their most recent five home encounters.

Amorim, however, holds firm belief that his squad will conclude the campaign robustly upon the return of their vital personnel to full fitness and readiness. 

"We find ourselves in a phase where multiple players are unavailable concurrently.

"Naturally, deploying Casemiro and (Manuel) Ugarte centrally alters dynamics compared to featuring Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount or Bruno, as expected. We merely require our recovering players and those from AFCON to rejoin, whereupon our rhythm will transform.

"I hold strong conviction that with everyone back, we will emerge as a formidable force, without question."