Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United has been knocked out of its first cup competition after losing 4-3 to Tottenham in remarkable circumstances.
In an extraordinary game full of rookie errors, Ruben Amorim would have been much the happier manager, seeing how Man Utd dominated possession and should have won if not for some moments of sloppiness.
United dominated the game on the balance of chances and Amad was once again a star vs Spurs despite coming on as a substitute.
If Amad continues to show up Erik ten Hag’s mistake of misusing him, another mistake under Ten Hagwas the one that cost Amorim on the night.
Altay Bayindir’s forgettable Carabao Cup quarterfinal
The sincerity (or the lack of it!) with which Amorim will approach the Carabao Cup was laid bare in his team selection for the quarterfinal
Against another conventional “top-six” team away from home in a quarterfinal, many of his usual big players were missing from the starting XI.
Altay Bayindir made his third appearance in the League Cup this season and on the balance of things, probably made his last one too.
The Turkish goalkeeper made costly errors for at least three of the four Spurs goals, with Dominic Solanke probably thanking him for helping him score a brace.
Bayindir flapped at crosses, parried shots straight at the opposition forwards, failed to command his area and got a yellow card to boot for effectively taking his frustration out on the referee.
He had always arrived at United to be a backup but his position as one has never been more clear which isn’t ideal, as a backup goalkeeper should be a challenger for the starting position too, in an ideal world.
Unfortunately, the player who could’ve been that was let go by United in the summer of 2023.
Matej Kovar’s transfer looks like a huge mistake now
Matej Kovar had emerged from the United academy as the archetypal modern goalkeeper who was good with feet, commanding in his area with underrated reflexes.
Kovar was at a crossroads after the 2022/23 season, impressing hugely for Sparta Prague in his home country and ready for the next step.
Instead of allowing him to challenge Andre Onana, the club elected to sell him permanently and signed Altay Bayindir as the backup.
Kovar has gone from strength to strength under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, winning the Bundesliga last season, although he made only one league appearance.
However, his true value has been clear in Europe as he played 12 Europa League games last season as Leverkusen went to the final.
Kovar kept five clean sheets and he was so impressive that this season, when Leverkusen are in the Champions League, Alonso has give Kovar three games and he’s kept a clean sheet in two.
United retain a buy-back clause on Kovar but now that he’s firmly established himself in the Leverkusen rotation, they will need to promise him a first-choice role to entice him.
All that could have been avoided had United given him a chance to genuinely challenge Onana after his return from the loan spell in Czech.
Had he impressed, United would have had two top goalkeepers and earned even more from Kovar’s eventual sale, if needed. Had he not, teams would have still been able to bet on his potential upside, leaving United in a win-win situation.
Instead, United are on the hook with Bayindir now and Kovar is impressing elsewhere.
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