Ruben Amorim says he will “talk to Alejandro Garnacho” after the Manchester United star went straight down the tunnel after being substituted against Ipswich and spoke out on the “Marcus Rashford connection”.
Garnacho was taken off at the end of the first half in the Red Devils’s 3-2 win over Ipswich after Patrick Dorgu was shown a red card for a horror challenge on Omari Hutchinson, and the winger was not best pleased.
He was clearly angry as he marched straight down the tunnel to the dressing room rather than sitting on the bench, before posting a picture of himself leaving the pitch on his Instagram story.
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Amorim offered a lame excuse for Garnacho’s reaction to being subbed and referred to the falling-out with Rashford which led to his loan to Aston Villa in January.
“It was cold and wet, maybe?” Amorim said. “You are making a connection with Rashford, right? I know, I know. What I’m saying is I’m going to obviously talk with Garnacho about that. So I will talk about that if you want in the next press conference.”
Garnacho and Rashford were dropped from the squad for the win over Manchester City in December over a lack of effort in training, before Garnacho was restored for the following trip to Tottenham.
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Asked about his decision to take Garnacho off, Amorim admitted it was a “risk” but was thinking about the Ipswich threat from set pieces with his side down to ten men.
“We have to choose someone to go out, we have to think about set pieces also, so it was Garnacho,” the United manager said. “The thinking was we’d play more in the 5-3-1. I know that is a risk because you are taking one – maybe the only player who has one‑against‑one pace. But I felt the team was OK in controlling the game.”
United showed some welcome grit at Old Trafford, coming from behind twice against relegation-threatened Ipswich to claim a crucial three points to lift them above Everton into 14th place in the Premier League.
Dorgu gifted Ipswich the opener early in the piece after a complete lack of communication with Andre Onana saw him pass the ball to Jaden Philogene, who tapped the ball into an empty net.
A Sam Morsy own goal drew United level before Matthijs de Ligt gave the Red Devils the lead after some pinball in the box.
But it’s never plain sailing for Amorim’s side and they were reduced to ten men after Dorgu was given his marching orders for a horror challenge on Omari Hutchinson.
Philogene scored again to draw the visitors level, as Liam Delap waved a leg at his cross, which went all the way through to beat Onana at the far post.
United looked set for another implosion, but Harry Maguire put them back in front soon after half-time and they clung onto their lead relatively comfortably despite being on the back foot for the second half.
Following news of further redundancies at the club, Amorim hailed the victory. “It is really important, well deserved. The fans’ support was amazing,” the Portuguese said.
