Match Coverage
12 duels lost, 0 dribbles – Rúben Amorim’s ‘big call’ doesn’t pay off vs Crystal Palace after “ridiculous” decision
Rúben Amorim’s “big call” against Crystal Palace failed to pay dividends as Manchester United fell to defeat against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester United slumped to their 11th Premier League defeat of the season as Jean-Philippe Mateta’s brace secured a commanding victory for Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Sunday evening.
The match began at a frantic pace, with Alejandro Garnacho seeing an early effort blocked and Kobbie Mainoo striking the post. Palace, however, posed their own threat, forcing André Onana into multiple saves within the opening 20 minutes.
As both sides realised the openness of the contest, they opted to tighten up defensively, leading to a lack of clear-cut chances before the half-time whistle.
United emerged for the second half with greater intent in the final third, yet it was Palace who broke the deadlock. Mateta reacted quickest to a rebound off the bar, turning it home to put the visitors ahead.
Rúben Amorim responded by introducing Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee in an attempt to shift the momentum, but United struggled to break through Palace’s disciplined back line. With five minutes remaining, Mateta struck again, sealing the win for the visitors.
Despite a late surge from United, Palace stood firm and once again departed Old Trafford with all three Premier League points.
Amorim made a “big call” vs Crystal Palace
Ahead of the fixture, United announced that Amorim had chosen to select neither of Rasmus Højlund or Joshua Zirkzee upfront, with the head coach being very coy in his pre-match niterview about who was starting as the striker.
“Kobbie Mainoo had a good game against a team [FCSB] that you would expect United to play well against,” former Everton and England midfielder Leon Osman told BBC Radio 5 Live ahead of the game.
“When they step back into the Premier League, they have not found it as easy. It’s a big call – Højlund and Zirkzee not being selected.”
However, as the game progressed, it became clear that Mainoo was the man Amorim had chosen to play up front, although he was very fluid in the position, exchanging with Garnacho and Amad.
The experiment failed to pay off
“The system he has tried to play has not worked,” Osman explained later in the tie as Mainoo came off in the 70th minute, replaced by Højlund up front, although the Danish striker was not much more effective with Crystal Palace looking to lock the game off.
After the game, Amorim was slammed for his “ridiculous” team selection, with many blaming the defeat on him after he failed to provide a winning formula for the club.
Mainoo himself had a rather uninspiring display, having 31 touches on the evening and only five of these coming in the opposition’s area.
Furthermore, despite playing a little more as as false nine, he did not complete any of his four attempted dribbles, making just two passes into the final third and losing nine of his 12 attempted duels.
Mainoo played so well as an attacking midfielder against FCSB, and this fixture should be a lesson to Amorim that his best position to insert Mainoo into the squad should remain so.
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