40 touches, 21 passes – Rúben Amorim’s “crazy” Manchester United selection decision vs Rangers pays off

Rúben Amorim’s “crazy” Manchester United selection decision against Rangers paid off during a 2-1 win in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

Manchester United were saved by club captain Bruno Fernandes after a late winner secured three Europa League points against Rangers during a tense Thursday evening at Old Trafford.

The first half of the tie saw both sides look fairly tentative, although Matthijs de Ligt saw a goal from a corner chalked off due to a controversial foul in the box moments before.

Amad and Joshua Zirkzee had chances to open the scoring, and a few chances fell in the way of Rangers, but the sides were level after 45 minutes.

The second half saw United handed a lead through their former player Jack Butland, with the Rangers goalkeeper punching the back back into his own net after a corner from Christian Eriksen.

Alejandro Garnacho then came close as the 20-year-old hit the post, but Rangers hit what many thought would be another late daggers as Cyriel Dessers slammed in an equaliser for the visitors with just minutes left on the clock.

However, a brilliant cross from Lisandro Martínez and emphatic finish from Fernandes in injury time made sure Amorim and his men finished the game with all three points on the night.

Amorim’s “crazy” decision

Ahead of the fixture, there were remarks that Amoirm would have to be “crazy” to start Altay Bayındır over André Onana against Rangers, despite the latter’s blunder against Brighton on the weekend.

However, the 39-year-old’s gamble paid off brilliantly as Bayındır once again provided a commanding display in goal.

Following his awesome performance against Arsenal earlier in the month, the Turkish international was once again strong in goal, making multiple good saves and being commanding in his own area.

He made a total of six saves on the night and faced an xG of 1.56, and punching out well while under pressure from set piece situatinos.

He completed 21 of his 26 passes, showing his growing proficiency on the ball, and made eight recoveries and had 40 touches on the night.

While Onana is still set to remain as Amorim’s first-choice goalkeeper for now, Bayındır is once again providing evidence that he should be seriously considered for the position in the future.

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