Manchester United got another reminder of how far they still have to go under Ruben Amorim with another loss at home, this time to Crystal Palace.
The 0-2 defeat arguably doesn’t tell the story of the game, as this wasn’t a performance as bad as Brighton or Newcastle, but it wasn’t very good either.
If anything, it again stressed the pain points of this Man Utd squad, namely their inability to break down deep defences and a lack of attacking cohesion near the opposition box.
While Ruben Amorim has promised that will come with more time on the training, the Palace game was strong evidence that it’s not just a tactical issue.
Personnel is lacking in a key area which paves the way for him to hand a shock debut in the next game against Leicester.
Ruben Amorim should give Chido Obi his Man Utd debut
Amorim said after the game that choosing to start without a natural striker wasn’t an indictment on the abilities of Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund.
That was expected from a manager who handles the media masterfully but it was impossible to watch the game and not see the key difference between the two sides.
In Mateta, Palace had a clinical finisher who was being fed and taking full advantage, while Kobbie Mainoo was trying to find spaces among the giants after hitting the post early.
It didn’t improve much when both strikers came on, thereby validating Amorim’s point that even Mainoo was a better fit up front than Hojlund and Zirkzee.
That leads United to Chido Obi, the free-scoring striking sensation who’s picked up at Old Trafford from where left off at Arsenal.
With United’s next game in the cup against a struggling Leicester side, Amorim could do a lot worse than play Chido Obi up front, or at least give him some minutes.
His form with the U18s and the U21s merits it.
Chido Obi has what it takes
Generally, a 17-year-old striker wouldn’t be mentioned for a first-team spot, especially in a physical league like the Premier League.
The thing is, Chido Obi is not a regular 17-year-old. He already towers above his competition at the youth level due to his remarkable physicality and is only adding skills to that frame.
His nine goals in all competitions in ten games speak of a player who is not rattled by being put in clinical situations but instead thrives in them.
He’s already added a lot of playmaking to his repertoire and his finishing plus dribbling is ever-improving.
United won’t get a better chance to blood him in than an FA Cup game at Old Trafford, with both the senior strikers struggling for their shooting boots.
It would be poetic if a United striker from the academy scored on his debut a week after Marcus Rashford left the club…
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