Ruben Amorim bizarrely backs his substitution calls vs Forest

Manchester United battled back to clinch a 2-2 draw away at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

It was the visitors who took the lead through Casemiro , and they looked the far better side in the opening 45 minutes.

But they capitulated within five minutes of the restart, with the hosts scoring twice to retake the lead, with Diogo Dalot enduring a nightmare time at the back.

With the need for more attacking firepower, Ruben Amorim inexplicably opted to bring on two defenders, which meant hardly any chances were created from open play.

But Amad stepped up to save his head coach’s blushes with a stunning long-ranger. In fact, the 20-time English league champions could have grabbed all three points but for a late goal-line clearance from another Amad shot.

The players were rightly disappointed to drop two points , and Amorim was asked about his strange substitution calls and his decision to persist with his compatriot Dalot.

“Sometimes, if you put more strikers on, I don’t feel we are going to play better. If you see Diogo Dalot , many times with space to make a cross but he has the right foot and is always coming inside, without space.

“With Patrick, we are going to do the same thing but, when you have the ball, got to the side and cross from the spaces there. Because, if you want to come inside, Matheus Cunha is always there to receive the ball.

“If you see the start of the second half, Leny [Yoro] is always the one with the space to run with the ball. Nous is a full-back so I try to use the characteristics of the player. It’s not the quality because we have the quality on the bench.

“Also, if I stop the game all the time, I have the feeling I am going to break something. We were going to improve in the second half so the feeling was not to change anything.

It is puzzling given Amorim knows Dalot is right footed, yet he persists with him every week. It is clear that the Portugal international has a mistake in him almost every game yet he seems to be ahead of Patrick Dorgu in the pecking order.

“And I know Amad can do much better, he is really dangerous on-on-one so, sometimes, we expect it just from that one guy. He was not doing a great game for us but managed to score. He has the potential to do so much better and we lost two points today.

“If Mainoo and Mason Mount was there, also Josh [Zirkzee] and then you have to imagine the game. Josh is better like a little bit like Cunha, playing between the lines. If you see the game, we need a guy who needs to be inside the box.

“Ben [Sesko] is the best one to do that. Sometimes, it’s the characteristics of the game and they know that it’s just the moment. We try to do our best, it’s nothing to do with the quality on the bench. We have a lot of games where that happens.”

Despite the disappointing draw, the Portuguese tactician was happy with the fightback shown by his players, and he claimed that if this was last season, the 20-time English league champions would have lost.

“It’s how to do it. I think, last year, we suffered a lot and we want to win games and overcome these moments. Now, we know how to do it. We just need to be inside the game until the final 10 minutes of the game.

“That is part of football. In the past, we could have lost everything, in the positions, in the way we play the game. Today, the feeling was not that one. So, I think we are improving in that aspect. Again, we did some things right but also the good thing is we have potential to play so much better and that is the goal.

“Yes (we would have lost), by more goals, I think that is my feeling.”

Ruben Amorim and his players will need to buck up ahead of their all-important clash against Tottenham Hotspur next week, the last game before the November international break.

Feature image Matt McNulty via Getty Images

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