Manchester United clinched a dramatic victory in their FA Cup fourth round clash against Leicester City at Old Trafford on Friday thanks to a last-minute goal from Harry Maguire.
There was more than a hint of off-side in that goal but with there being no VAR till the next round, United will not care about how the winner came.
It was once again a torrid first-half in which the team lacked any real conviction with the players content to play the ball sideways and backwards with hardly any player showing the bravery to drive forward with the ball.
Ruben Amorim handed Patrick Dorgu his debut and the Dane was the best player in the first half by a country mile but strangely, he was started on the right side.
Strange first-half calls from Amorim
After complaining about the lack of options on the left, the Portuguese’s inexplicable decision to start with Diogo Dalot as the left wingback once again hampered the attacking build-up.
It was made even worse with Kobbie Mainoo starting as the left-sided attacking midfielder with none of them attacking the space out wide.
The England international excelled against FCSB who gave him space and time to play triangles in and around the box. The Foxes hardly allowed him space to turn and everything kept going back.
It was not a surprise to see the hosts concede first again and at half-time, Ruud van Nistelrooy must have been dreaming of sending a strong message to INEOS and Amorim about his brutal exit from the club a few months ago
But Amorim finally fixed his mistake as he brought on Alejandro Garnacho to play out on the left and immediately, the Argentine made an impact.
He was direct, brave and kept running at the Leicester defence everytime he got on the ball. His finishing often lets him down but he is, by far, the best attacking outlet Amorim has on the left.
Subs make all the difference
And the head coach also subbed off the inept Mainoo for Joshua Zirkzee and the Dutchman combined with his fellow sub to restore parity.
The Dutchman is not a ruthless finisher but seems to have a more well-rounded game as compared to Rasmus Hojlund, who was shocking yet again.
It was far from a stellar night but coming back from a goal down to win the game should do the team’s confidence a world of good.
And Amorim must learn from this and utilise his strongest team from the start instead of trying to shoehorn square pegs into round holes.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
