Manchester United fans got their first look at how Ruben Amorim plans to approach the campaign ahead following their season-opener defeat to Arsenal.
While we can expect that Benjamin Sesko will be leading the line from the off this weekend and Andre Onana will replace Altay Bayindir between the sticks, the rest of the personnel were essentially Amorim’s first-choice team.
As such, supporters were surprised to see that there was no room for Amad Diallo, who’s on the back of his most prolific campaign for the club after notching a hugely impressive 11 goals and 10 assists in 2024/2025.
How Amad fared vs the Gunners
Amad’s lack of game time was one of many reasons Erik ten Hag so frequently came under fire last season, given the Ivorian had just overseen a stellar loan spell with Sunderland.
Yesterday, he was granted a 35-minute cameo to try and turn the tie around, replacing Diogo Dalot in the 55th minute when United were trailing 1-0.
Whilst chasing the game, Amad was able to have an ‘explosive’ impact off the bench; he won 100 per cent of duels (seven), 100 per cent of his tackles (three) and completed 100 per cent of his dribbles (two), as per StatmanDave.
Ferdinand on Amad concerns
Therefore, it comes as no surprise to see that Rio Ferdinand has pleaded with Amorim to grant the 23-year-old the prominent role he deserves.
When reacting to the evening’s affairs at Old Trafford, he said (via Rio Ferdinand Presents): “Amad came on second half and I think he did enough to show that against any team that you feel you’re going to dominate possession, he has to play.
“I think he’ll even be sitting there, Amad, saying, ‘Play me against anybody, because I’ll get our team higher up the pitch and I can beat people.’
“The way that Amorim plays you need people that are going to beat people with the ball or run beyond people and Amad can do both. It’s just, can he do it from a right wing-back position? If Man Utd do get pinned back at any time he’s playing, is he able to defend and cope defensively? They’re the question marks we’ve got.
“But if you set out to dominate the game possession-wise, Amad is an absolute must in this team. Whether it’s right wing-back or right wing, I think he has to play.
“I think over the last season and even in this one game here today, he’s shown that he’s got the confidence and the ability to be a game-changer.”
There was a couple of questions asked about the team selection and substitutions yesterday and rightly so.
We could all see we needed more mobility in midfield with someone who could carry the ball, hence why wasn’t Kobbie Mainoo brought on instead of Ugarte, who cannot beat his own shadow. Amorim had his team on the attack from the start but when Casemiro started to fade, Mainoo was the one that should have been introduced. He can cut play out and attack with the ball and pass accurately. I really don’t know what Amorim has against Mainoo but if it continues he would be better off with another team who plays him regularly, or he will not be getting a place on the plane for the World Cup next year.
As for the goalkeepers, we are in the same boat as last season, and if it’s not put right, we will lose a lot of points again this season. We need a goalkeeper who is a leader also and Martinez comes to mind. We also need an all action midfielder, and for Fernandes to help him out instead of drifting too far forward and losing the ball.
That’s it. A midfielder and a goalkeeper ASAP. and Amorim to make the right substitutions this year.