60% passing, 0 duels won, 0 tackles: Amorim’s gamble vs West Ham did not pay off

Manchester United paid the price for going too defensive as they were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham United at Old Trafford on Thursday. After Diogo Dalot had given the Red Devils a deserved lead in the second-half, Ruben Amorim was expected to go for the jugular to make matters sure. Instead, the head coach made a glut of defensive substitutions, and that meant the Hammers slowly gained a foothold in the contest and equalised late on. Prior to the game, there were doubts on the availability of both Joshua Zirkzee, and Bruno Fernandes, but Matthijs de Ligt was the one who ended up missing out due to a minor injury. Ayden Heaven gamble did not pay off Ayden Heaven was drafted in to play in the middle of the back three. And the gamble did not pay off at all. It was his first start in the Premier League this season, and the 19-year-old looked nervous and it showed as he picked up a needless booking within eight minutes for a rash challenge on Jarrod Bowen. StatisticValue Goals0 Assists0 Expected assists (xA)0 Tackles (won)0 (0) Interceptions0 Clearances4 Blocked shots1 Recoveries3 Ground duels (won)3 (0) Aerial duels (won)2 (0) Fouls2 Dribbled past1 Key passes0 Crosses (accurate)0 (0) Accurate passes6/10 (60%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)1/3 (33%) Passes in own half (acc.)5/7 (71%) Touches17 Dribbles (successful)0 (0) Possession lost4 Total shots0 Shots on target0 Shots blocked0 That yellow card seemed to drain all the confidence out of him, as only six passes out of 10 found their mark in the first 45 minutes. The ex-Arsenal academy product made 0 tackles. On top of that, he lost all three of his ground duels and both aerial duels. He was also dribbled past once while he committed two fouls. Needs a loan The left-footed defender did complete four clearances, and recovered the ball three times but it was a thoroughly underwhelming display from a player who had promised a lot last season (all stats via sofascore). He lasted only 45 minutes and Leny Yoro, who was heavily criticised against Crystal Palace, came on in his place. Heaven needs more minutes to get his confidence back up, but with Lisandro Martinez now fully fit, he is unlikely to get too many chances at left centre-back, where he is most comfortable. The performance from the England U20 international showed exactly why the Red Devils are mulling over sending him out on loan in January. Should De Ligt not recover from his injury before Monday, it is more likely that Yoro starts in place of Ayden Heaven. Feature image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25