What Ruben Amorim realized as injury-hit Man Utd battle in useless in opposition to Tottenham
An injury-hit Manchester United team were unable to pick up any points in north London as Tottenham managed to hold on to a slender win with Ruben Amorim seeing his side waste plenty of chances
Ruben Amorim will be left to wonder how Manchester United didn’t score in their 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur.
United travelled to north London with bare bones, seeing Amorim have just 12 fit first-team players to select from – leaving Victor Lindelof the only player on the bench to have played for the Red Devils’ first-team.
Both team’s fortunes had turned before kick-off, with Spurs able to name a strong squad after weeks of being in the same injury position United currently find themselves in. And that mentality boost showed immediately as the hosts came forward with early chances and the home crowd roared them on.
And it didn’t take long for the hosts to take the lead as James Maddison tapped into an empty net after Andre Onana parried an effort straight to the on-rushing midfielder. But United reacted well, making a number of chances of their own, with the best falling to Alejandro Garnacho who embarrassingly spooned a one-on-one over the bar.
United started the second half brightly, seeing Garnacho twice force Guglielmo Vicario into a save. Chances fell at both ends as the game took on the feel of a cup tie heading end to end. But United’s tired legs were obvious as they failed to find an equaliser or create a major chance in the final stages of the game.
Here, the Daily Star Sport looks at what Amorim learned as United failed to force an equaliser.
Team selection
Amorim’s hands were tied in terms of his team selection with United missing Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo, Lisandro Martinez, Manuel Ugarte, Toby Collyer, Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, Jonny Evans, Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton, Leny Yoro and Christian Eriksen.
The current issue is potentially the worst injury crisis United have had in recent years and leaves Amorim’s tough job even harder. Despite United trailing throughout the majority of the game, Amorim waited until added time to give 17-year-old striker Chido Obi his debut in the only substitution he made.
His frustration
Amorim was incredibly animated on the sideline with the camera regularly panning to show the Portuguese reacting angrily to a mistake by his players or turning to his coaching staff on the bench in frustration.
After coming out in public and slamming his players as the “worst-ever” United team, a comment he later explained he regretted. He made no secret about his animated reactions, previously saying: “I think I have good things in the way I deal with everything, but sometimes I make mistakes and it’s really hard for me to hide frustration in some moments.”
United fans offered their sympathy for their manager, with one user writing on X: “Amorim getting more animated on the bench. Knows this group is absolute s***.” A second fan added following Garnacho’s miss: “I had the exact reaction as Amorim.”
The midfield shape
A regular criticism of United under Amorim has been how easy opposition teams have found it playing against United’s midfield. In Amorim’s system, the two centre midfielders have found themselves overrun, especially today with Garnacho and Zirkzee playing ahead of them.
The midfield duo of Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes saw themselves stretched, seeing former United captain Gary Neville tear into Amorim and the shape on commentary, slamming you “wouldn’t see this in under-9s football.”
Fans on social media agreed with Neville, with one saying: “Gary Neville is absolutely right about the midfield, Amorim has to adjust. It’s ridiculous having that much space in midfield – Casemiro is a passenger and Bruno ends up in no man’s land.”
A Spurs supporter added: “Gary Neville’s spot on by the way, Bruno going out wide is exactly what’s creating space for us in the middle, we just need to use that space”
Alejandro Garnacho role
The Argentine almost left Old Trafford last month with Napoli and Chelsea heavily linked to his signature, with United even naming a £60million price tag. But following Amad’s season-ending injury, a lot will now be asked of Garnacho.
Amad had been United’s saviour on multiple occasions since Amorim took charge, and the Ivorian’s absence will be a major blow. However, Garnacho has the chance to become the main man he looked to have been under Erik ten Hag.
Scoring just once in 19 games under Amorim, United need Garnacho to step up. The 20-year-old wasted a golden chance in the first-half before forcing Vicario into two smart saves in the second.
The forward needs to re-find his goalscoring boots with Amorim set to rely on him on for the next three months.
