Manchester United drop out of the Carabao Cup in the quarter-final stage as Ruben Amorim almost made a stunning comeback from 3-0 down against Tottenham
Ruben Amorim was unable to take Manchester United into the Carabao Cup semi-finals as he lost 4-3 to Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur despite a surprising comeback.
Dominic Solanke pounced on a Pedro Porro rebounded effort to give Spurs the lead inside 15 minutes. Dejan Kulusevski made it two early in the second half after a shocking Lisandro Martinez clearance. Solanke followed up with his second of the night and Spurs had one foot in the second round.
Substitute’s Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo both scored after moments of madness from Spurs keeper Fraser Forster. Son Heung-min found a fourth for Spurs straight from a corner.
Jonny Evans did score a late third for the Red Devils, but they couldn’t find the crucial equaliser. And Daily Star Sport has a look at what Amorim got right and wrong on Thursday night.
Poor goalkeeping and sleepy defenders
Tottenhams opening goal was a perfect mix of a good shot, goalkeeping error and defenders not being alert.
Amorim chose to rest Andre Onana for this cup clash which wasn’t too much of a surprise. Unfortunately, fans would have been missing him straight away as second keeper Altay Bayindir poorly parried away Porro’s long-range effort right into the path of Solanke.
The English striker had the whole box to himself as United’s defence had completely fallen asleep following the initial free kick. Fans weren’t happy with the goalkeeping as one wrote: “We need a new second choice GK! I miss the days of [Sergio] Romero, [Anders] Lindegaard.” The Turkish keeper also missed Son’s corner that went straight in, tarnishing a completed United comeback.
Antony confusion
The £82m winger who has started zero Premier League games this season was given a chance by Amorim today – but the Portuguese manager was likely wishing he made a different decision.
The Brazilian looked confused playing with a three-back. When Mazraoui overlapped on the wing as he’s designed to do under Amorim’s tactics, Antony looked confused as he filled an awkward pocket between the right side and middle of the pitch. Sometimes he would simply get in the way of his Moroccan teammate.
United fans feelings were clear. “Might as well play with 10 men, Antony looses the ball every time he touches it,” one fan wrote. While a second said: “What’s Antony doing on that pitch? He has to be sold!”
Conceded early in second half
The 15 minutes that teams get between the first and second half is where managers really earn their buck. United hadn’t played well, but they were only 1-0 down. They needed to come out fighting.
Whatever Amorim told them in the dressing room didn’t work straight away as United conceded in the first two minutes of the second half. When they did kick into action, it was too little too late.
The defenders would end the match regretting the choices they had made earlier knowing that their three goals should have been enough.
Brought on superstar Diallo
Amad Diallo brought his name to light when he scored the winner late on at the Etihad stadium during the Manchester Derby. He was the catalyst at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium too for United.
Amorim had Diallo on the bench for this game. This was typically a match where the Ivory Coast international would start as a rotated player – but on this occasion, he was brought on to try and save the game.
When he first stepped on the pitch, he was lifting up the United support. His constant pressure gave United a crucial second goal. One fan thinks: “[He’s] currently best player at United.”
Not resting his captain
Although this match against Tottenham was a big game for Amorim, he was still expected to change out his team to give some key players a rest.
One of the most important decisions, and one that now looks obvious, is starting skipper Bruno Fernandes. Even when United were 3-0 down, the midfielder was creating excellent chances.
When United staged their comeback, he played a key part, supporting his teammates and getting the away support on his side.