“‘Nah, you have to go up there’” - Tyrell Malacia on how Manchester United superstar gave him FA Cup winners’ medal despite not playing

Manchester United left-back Tyrell Malacia has opened up on how superstar teammate Casemiro gave him an FA Cup winner's medal despite him not playing. The Dutch full-back was affected by a knee injury in July 2023, and he has been out of contention for over a year. He missed out on the 2023-24 season entirely.

Malacia has only just played 45 minutes in a 4-1 loss for Manchester United's Under-21 side against Huddersfield Town (November 12). He did not partake in senior team appearances last season, and was not a part of their FA Cup win over Manchester City.

However, after goals from Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho gave the Red Devils the trophy in their 2-1 win, Malacia was part of the celebrations. He revealed that he found it difficult partaking in lifting the trophy, due to not playing a single game. Speaking to the Athletic, he said (via SPORTbible):

"Of course, I wanted to be there to support everyone but, for me, the most difficult part was to be up there with the guys (for the trophy presentation), because I wasn’t part of the team during the whole process."

He then revealed that Casemiro ensured he partook and also got a medal, adding:

“I was like, ‘I’m staying down here and you guys just enjoy it, then I’ll see you in the dressing room’. He [Casemiro] was like, ‘Nah, you have to go up there as well’. And if someone with that kind of experience tells you that, you’re listening.”

Tyrell Malacia spoke about how the team reacted to his participation in the celebrations:

“They said, ‘At the end of the day, you’re still part of the team’. I’ve been in a dressing room the whole season and seen everything," Malacia added. "They know how hard I’ve been working every day to come back to the team and everything, so they said you deserve it as much as we do.”

Manchester United won that FA Cup under Erik ten Hag, helping the manager retain his job for a while longer at Old Trafford. However, the goodwill soon dried up with sub-par performances this season, and Ten Hag was relieved of his duties in late October.

---

Manchester United have turned to Ruben Amorim to improve the club's fortunes

After Ten Hag's sack, the club quickly moved for Portuguese manager Ruben Amorim to take over as head coach. While he continued in his role as Sporting CP manager, Ruud van Nistelrooy was the interim boss at Old Trafford.

On November 11, Amorim officially resumed at the helm of affairs, with Van Nistelrooy leaving the club. The Dutch coach helped to turn things around somewhat, leading Manchester United to four games without a loss in all competitions.

Now, United will hope Ruben Amorim can change their fortunes and drive them to return to the heights of English and European football once more. While such goals are likely to take time, a win over Ipswich in their upcoming Premier League game on November 24 could set a good tone for Amorim's leadership.