Ruben Amorim has explained why he left the likes of Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee on the bench during Manchester United’s draw against Nottingham Forest.
Manchester United could only secure a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in their Premier League clash, with Amad scoring a late equaliser.
United took the lead through Casemiro after a corner that appeared to have been incorrectly awarded. Amad and Benjamin Šeško had opportunities to extend the lead before the break, but Forest were a regular threat on the break.
Ruben Amorim’s side were shocked early in the second half as the hosts struck twice in quick succession to take control of the game.
Amad produced a superb finish late on to level the score and came extremely close to snatching victory, seeing another powerful effort cleared off the line in stoppage time.
Amorim explains why he didn’t bring on Zirkzee or Mount vs Forest
Even though United secured a point in the end, many fans felt like there needed to be changes in the frontline as players like Matheus Cunha and Šeško were not heavily involved.
Attackers like Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount were named on the bench but the only two substitutes made were Patrick Dorgu for Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui for Leny Yoro.
When asked why he only made those two changes in the game, Amorim explained how he felt like the attackers on the pitch could produce a moment and also how he didn’t want to interrupt the game more than it was already being by Forest players.
“Sometimes, if you put more strikers on there, I don’t feel we are going to play better,” he told journalists after the game.
“If you see Dalot, many times Dalot has the ball with space to make the cross but with the right foot he is always going inside without the space.
“The only thing with Patrick, he is going to do the same thing but when you have the ball go to the side and cross, the space is there, if you want to go inside Cunha is there always to receive the ball.
“We have a lot of quality on the bench but sometimes I had the feeling that if I stop the game all the time, I’m going to break something and I think we were improving during the second half. So my feeling was I’m not changing anything in the guys in front, we have the talent there.”
Speaking further on Zirkzee, Amorim added: “Josh is a bit like Cunha in playing between the lines. If you look at the game, we needed a guy in the box and Ben is the best for that. Sometimes it’s a question of characteristics and the players know that.”
Amorim said substitutes would be important
While Amorim’s explanations are understandable, it did feel like some players lost the energy needed to stand out in that clash.
Cunha is usually so dominant in duels but was losing out in those moments. On the other hand, it is true that he could have produced a moment of magic like Amad did.
Before the game, Amorim did claim that substitutes could be important for United and he needs to keep those players happy too.
The likes of Zirkzee and Mount will feel frustrated that they did not get the opportunity to make the difference in that game against Forest.
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