Amad Diallo blunder: Three decisions Ruben Amorim got wrong as Man United held vs Tottenham
Ruben Amorim was culpable as Man United were held to a 2-2 draw against Tottenham despite going in front early on.
Bryan Mbeumo had given Man United the lead on the half-hour mark as they rested on their laurels throughout the game before Mathys Tel levelled six minutes from time.
Richarlison thought he had won it for Tottenham in added-time, but Matthijs de Ligt made it 2-2 with seconds left on the clock and it ended level.
Ruben Amorim was under pressure at United in the early stages of the campaign before some good recent results won many over, but this was not ideal and Football Insider have looked at three decisions that he did not get right that allowed Spurs to take a point from the game on Saturday.
Casemiro replaced by Manuel Ugarte
Casemiro put in a showing that proved his quality as he dictated the tempo in midfield and was a particularly standout performer in the first-half.
The experienced Brazilian has had an upturn in form this season, likely due to the Red Devils’ lack of European football and subsequent ample time to recover.
It came as a surprise, then, to see him taken off with 20 minutes to play despite his strong performance, and his replacement Manuel Ugarte was seriously poor as Spurs came back into the game and cut through the midfield with ease numerous times.
Amad Diallo handed wrong role despite decent attacking showing
Amorim has a tendency to tinker with his backline in the middle of games, and he did that again here as Noussair Mazraoui went off just before the hour mark and Amad ended up at right wing-back.
Amad’s lack of defensive prowess has been highlighted this season as the Portuguese boss figures out where best to play him each week, but he had done well as an attacking midfielder with an assist for Mbeumo early on and a decent showing all round before being pushed back.
It made little sense to change him at that point in the game, but Amorim did, and United looked much more susceptible to attacks down that flank late on as a result.
Diogo Dalot brought on for Patrick Dorgu
Another tactical change that Amorim saw fit to make was to bring on Diogo Dalot for Patrick Dorgu with ten minutes to play.
Once again, there was little point to disrupt his side’s backline at 1-0 up, and he paid the price for his tinkering as Dalot struggled to adjust to the pace of the game and United conceded twice with him on the pitch.
Dalot’s poor performances have been slammed by United fans this season, and it is tough to understand why he was brought on so late when they simply needed consistency across the pitch.