Ruben Amorim made a crucial decision which cost his team points in the final minutes against Tottenham. It could have completely changed the 2-2 outcome of the game.
Ruben Amorim’s side snatched a dramatic point in a tense 2-2 tie against Tottenham Hotspur with a late Matthijs De Ligt header away from home in the Premier League.
United looked sharp from the off, controlling possession and keeping Spurs quiet, when Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring with a clean header from an Amad cross, putting the reds in front heading into half time.
The hosts came out stronger in the second half, but United’s summer signing goalkeeper, Senne Lammens remained firm as he denied Spurs’ threatening attacks. Brendan Johnson thought he had equalised finding the far corner, but the offside flag went up in his disappointment.
As the game entered the final stages, Thomas Frank turned to his bench for some contribution. Substitute, Mathys Tel levelled the scoring for Spurs late on with a clean turn and finish, finally beating Lammens in goal.
Richarlison thought he secured all three points as he smartly flicked on Wilson Odebert’s effort in added time finding the back of the net.
But it was United’s big Dutch centre-half, Matthijs De Ligt who rescued a point with a powerful header on the back post in the 96th minute, too strong for Guglielmo Vicario to keep out. But this late panic could have been avoided for United if Amorim didn’t make a certain decision.
Amorim’s decision to use all subs left United struggling vs Spurs
Amorim chased all three points in the dying embers of the game, but this left United vulnerable to the threat of injury. The Portuguese manager “made a mistake” by using all five substitutes by the 80th minute in an attempt to regain control of the game.
When substitute, Benjamin Sesko was forced off due to injury in the 89th minute, United were left with ten men on the pitch to see out the game.
Glen Murray spoke out on Amorim’s decision, “Sesko had limped off for Manchester United and he left them to 10 men after already making five substitutions. If I were Ruben Amorim, I would have left him out there to be a body.”
He also stated, “It had to be instinct from Richarlison. He is low on confidence and his little flick has landed in the corner. All of a sudden the stadium absolutely erupts.”
Could Sesko have prevented United from conceding?
With the Slovenian standing at 6’5”, his presence when defending Spurs set pieces could have been vital for United. Richarlison’s chance could have been prevented perhaps if the initial clearance which fell to Odebert, was dealt with better.
However, it is safe to assume that Sesko’s injury is something of concern as he went straight down the tunnel as he limped away.
The question remains whether United could have gotten more from the game whether Amorim left the injured Sesko on the field.
Alternatively, Amorim could have kept one substitution spare for injuries, potentially giving opportunity for Joshua Zirkzee or Ayden Heaven to be a threat in the air.
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