Man Utd’s Chido Obi, 17, breaks silence about 120 second debut towards Tottenham
Manchester United youngster Chido Obi has reacted to his 120 seconds debut as the 17-year-old striker failed to have a touch after he came off the bench against Tottenham
Manchester United’s latest debutant Chido Obi has spoken out after making his first-team debut.
The 17-year-old striker made his senior bow in added time as he came off the bench in United’s 1-0 defeat away against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Obi was one of eight teenagers named by Ruben Amorim on the bench with United plunged into an injury crisis.
Obi was the only player to come off the bench as United chased the game having fallen behind after just 13 minutes to James Maddison’s goal. Despite being a last-ditch roll of the dice in the 91st minute as he replaced Casemiro, Obi failed to have a touch of the ball.
While Amorim came under criticism for not utilising his bench, despite seven of his nine substitutes having not made their senior debut before the game, Obi had no ill feeling towards his boss that he should have been introduced earlier.
Taking to Instagram, the Dane thanked Amorim for the moment, he wrote: “Disappointed with the loss. On a personal note thanks to the gaffer & the club for making a dream come true for me and my family.”
Speaking after the game, Amorim lauded Obi as he explained why the striker was the only substitute used. The Portuguese highlighted his “very clever” abilities in the box and hoped he could have been the difference.
“If you see Chido playing, sometimes every ball lost in the box, he’s very clever, so I was trying to put one more player (on) because I felt the team was good during the game and I didn’t feel the need to change,” Amorim said.
“Chido was that player when, from a long ball, he could make the difference.”
United’s injury troubles have seen half of the first-team squad currently out injured. Amad Diallo and Lisandro Martinez are expected to miss the rest of the season, while Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount are likely to miss the next few weeks.
