Manchester United took on Tottenham Hotspur aiming to reach the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Altay Bayindir started in goal, for his third League Cup appearance of the season. Ruben Amorim’s defensive selection threw up a couple of shocks with Victor Lindelof and Leny Yoro starting alongside Lisandro Martinez.
Noussair Mazraoui overcame a fitness scare to start at right wingback while Diogo Dalot started on the left.
Manuel Ugarte kept his place in the first eleven after a fine showing versus Manchester City but he was partnered by Christian Eriksen instead of Kobbie Mainoo.
Antony got a surprise recall to the starting eleven to play alongside regulars Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund.
Here are four things we learnt from the match.
Altay Bayindir looked shaky
Bayindir surprisingly kept his place in the Carabao Cup team in without question the toughest assignment he has faced in a United shirt.
He started the game nervously and made a couple of questionable decisions in possession which saw the ball sail out of play.
The Turk failed his first big test when he could only punch a Pedro Porro shot to Dominic Solanke, who was waiting to pounce and fire home Spurs’ opener after 15 minutes.
Bayindir did settle into the game a bit better after, with his side enjoying possession and he did make a decent stop from Dejan Kulusevski.
There was not much he could do about the second or third goals, however, fans will be left wondering would Amorim have been better off selecting regular keeper Andre Onana for such a tough assignment.
He made a mess of Spurs’ fourth goal, as he was beaten directly from a corner kick and whilst he will argue he was impeded, he won’t have convinced anyone he is ready to seriously challenge Onana for the number one spot.
United continue to keep the ball away from home
Amorim has only been in charge for eight matches and less than a calendar month, but probably the most obvious difference in play from the Erik ten Hag era is control of the ball, especially away from home.
Away to Arsenal, his side had 49% of the ball and in the victory against Manchester City at the Etihad at the weekend, they had 48% of the ball.
In another tough trip away to one of England’s finest, United also had 48% of the possession after the first half in an even match.
Ten Hag would usually resort to transitions and counters away from home but the new boss has made a point to match teams on the ball.
The Red Devils still remain rather toothless in front of goal in spite of their possession but rebuilding this team to play in the manager’s image will be a slow and steady process.
Amorim will have to change the mentality
The Red Devils felt they may have turned a corner with the victory at the Etihad last Sunday but they were brought massively down to earth by a rampant Spurs.
United actually managed the first half quite well and could consider themselves unlucky not to be level at half-time.
Nonetheless, Spurs put a mentally fragile visiting team to the sword, scoring a minute after the half-time and then again after 54 minutes.
Amorim can tinker with tactics all he likes but until he weeds out the mentality problems that are endemic in this squad, he will find it very tough to improve upon the record of his predecessors.
Lisandro Martinez’s woes continue
The Argentine was the darling of the fanbase in his debut season under Erik ten Hag, turning himself into one of the club’s most indispensable players.
He spent most of last season injured and numerous fans were salivating at the thought of having a fully fit Martinez back and available.
Sadly, his form has dramatically fallen off and the Argentine was very poor for Spurs’ second and third goals and looks a shadow of his former self.
If this continues, Amorim will have to make a decision whether he truly is the left centre back for his 3-4-3 system or is the solution in the transfer market or the academy.
Featured image Alex Pantling via Getty Images
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
