Manchester United have lost two successive games and Ruben Amorim will be left wondering whether he could have done things a little differently.
One week ago Manchester United were on a high after winning the derby against City. Days later we are counting the cost of back-to-back losses.
Among the defeats was a costly Carabao Cup loss at Tottenham, with United eliminated from the competition and missing out on a semi-final against Liverpool.
Head coach Ruben Amorim rotated the team against Spurs, and on reflection, he got it wrong.
Resting Amad backfired
Amad was Manchester United’s match-winner against City, scoring one goal and providing an assist.
It was a surprise that he was rested against Tottenham, after playing so well – but Ruben Amorim wanted to give Antony an opportunity, and aimed to save Amad for the Bournemouth game.
In the 55th minute against Spurs, Amad came on, with United 3-0 down. He changed the game, scoring one goal and providing one assist, and Tottenham looked scared of him.
United ended up losing 4-3 after a horrific Altay Bayindir error at the end – and fans were left frustrated, feeling that if Amad started, they would probably have won the game.
No benefit to Amad rest
Having unintentionally sacrificed a potential win over Tottenham and cup progression by leaving Amad on the bench, Ruben Amorim needed it to be worthwhile by his team beating Bournemouth.
It did not work out, with United delivering an inefficient performance in front of goal, Amad included, losing 3-0.
Had the positivity of the derby win been wiped out by the loss to Spurs?
Ruben Amorim needs to experiment to learn more about his players, but he might have been better off going with his strongest team against Tottenham, and then rotating against Bournemouth.
You could make the argument that the Premier League is more important – but United left the game with nothing, and remain rooted in 13th place.
United end the week out of one cup competition, and further away from European qualification for next season.
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