Ruben Amorim given brutal reminder after failing with Sir Alex Ferguson strategy

You can’t win anything with kids - not for about the last 30 years, anyway.

And as Ruben Amorim decorated the road to Bilbao with the ruins of ’s 16th defeat this season, former Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen’s famous soundbite proved devastatingly accurate. Don’t fall for any salesmen’s patter about this being a seven-goal thriller.

Brentford put the third-youngest line-up in Premier League history to the sword to keep the Bees on the scent of pollen and honey in Europe next season. Copenhagen-on-Thames is a nice day out for a stroll along the Thames towpath or crossing the bridge to see the Great Pagoda in Kew Gardens, but for United it has often contained all the charms of a minefield.

Three years ago, in a prologue to his rancorous exit, threw a monumental strop when unlamented interim manager Ralf Rangnick dared to substitute him here. Seven months later, Erik ten Hag’s reign was almost stillborn when United shipped four goals in the opening 45 minutes, a debacle which led to being stripped of the captaincy.

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And now, with one foot in the final, Amorim risked further ignominy by making eight changes. There is nothing wrong with promoting youth, and nobody does it better than the club who gave us the Busby Babes and the Class of ’92.

But with an average age of 22 years and 270 days, United's starting XI was only behind Middlesbrough against in May 2006 (20 years, 181 days) and ’s side against Portsmouth in 2009 (22 years, 237 days) for inexperience. And at 17 years 156 days, striker Chido Obi became the youngest United player to start a Premier League game as Amorim channelled his inner fanboy: May the fourth be with you, Obi.

Yet if the Premier League is an unforgiving environment for Babybel kids in a jungle of big cheeses, at least it does not diminish the audacity of youth, and after 14 minutes the Cub Devils had the temerity to go in front. Alejandro Garnacho’s low, first-time cross was turned home from six yards by , his first goal since March 2024 and only his second for United - both against the Bees.

Mount’s career at Old Trafford has been permanently stuck on the launch-pad awaiting take-off, and at 26 he is in danger of having a bright future behind him. Much the same can be said of United’s dreadful domestic campaign, and two goals in six minutes soon disabused them of the fanciful notion that the kids would be all right.

First Mikkel Damsgaard poked Michael Kayode’s header beyond Altay Bayindir at his near post, with the help of a telling deflection off acting United skipper , for the equaliser. Then, with Matthijs De Ligt lying on the floor and signalling that he would need to be replaced, Christian Norgaard charged into the gap behind the stricken Dutchman and crossed for Kevin Schade to plunder his 10th goal of the season with a soaring header.

United’s token protests to referee Anthony Taylor that he should have intervened fell on deaf ears and, in fairness, the law is explicit: Play is only stopped in the event of head injuries. Maybe if players didn’t roll around feigning mortal wounds, genuine cases of distress like De Ligt’s thigh problem would be taken more seriously.

Bravely United waited until the last 20 minutes to fold after De Ligt’s limping evacuation, but it was pitiful stuff. Schade was unmarked on the far post to head home Bryan Mbeumo’s deflected cross, and four minutes later the remnants of Amorim’s defence were sliced open again, Yoane Wissa rolling his 18th goal of the season into an empty net from Kayode’s pass.

The persevering Garnacho’s 25-yard rocket was useful damage limitation, and substitute Amad, making his first Premier League appearance since February, added another in stoppage time. But United’s window dressing was fooling nobody.

They will have to keep it much tighter on the shop floor against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday night.

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