Ruben Amorim hints at bizarre reason why Patrick Dorgu came off at half-time during Manchester United debut

Ruben Amorim has hinted at why he decided to bring Patrick Dorgu off at half-time during his Manchester United debut against Leicester City.

Manchester United edged past Leicester City with a 2-1 win in their FA Cup fourth-round clash at Old Trafford on Friday night.

United struggled in the first half, delivering a poor performance and deservedly going into the break 1-0 down after a goal from Bobby De Cordova-Reid.

At half-time, Ruben Amorim brought on Alejandro Garnacho, who injected much-needed energy and pace into the game.

The Argentine played a key role in setting up Joshua Zirkzee’s equalizer, and while United improved, their play remained somewhat scrappy.

In the final moments, Harry Maguire headed in the winning goal from a set-piece. He appeared to be offside, but with no VAR in use, the goal stood.

Amorim hints at why Dorgu was replaced

United produced a performance with very few positives, particularly in the first half. However, it was Patrick Dorgu on his debut who made the best impression before the break.

The Dane started at right wingback rather than on the left and looked to be one of United’s best players. He won a couple of fouls in dangerous areas, played the ball well and almost created a couple of chances.

It was a positive debut from the 20-year-old but supporters were stunned to see him replaced at half-time for Garnacho.

Dorgu signed for the club last weekend and so would have had a full week of training under his belt ahead of this game and while you’d understand protecting a new player if they were struggling, he was one of the only players performing on the night.

Amorim has hinted that he felt Dorgu was slightly “anxious” in some moments as a reason for his early substitution, although stressed how important he thinks the Dane could be.

“He was a little bit anxious in the first touch with the ball,” the United boss told reporters. “It’s a different league for him, a different speed of the game but he did well.

“He has pace, he has strength, he’s going to improve a lot and we as a team need to play better to help these new guys to perform at the right level.”

Why Dorgu played at right wingback

For those who watched the game, it seems like a bizarre suggestion from the boss as Dorgu did not seem to look anxious in his play whatsoever. However, some were confused as to why he was playing on the right rather than the left.

Since he was announced as a new signing, fans assumed that Dorgu would solve the persistent problems witnessed at left wingback but Amorim believes that the left-footed player can operate on the right as well.

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“If you see the history of Dorgu in the last team he played a lot of games on the right,” Amorim added. “We have to have wingers who can play both sides like Dalot. It’s a really important thing.

“Sometimes you need a left foot on the right side to come inside and connect in a different way, and sometimes you need a right-footer to connect and cross more balls.”

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