Owen Hargreaves questioned Ruben Amorim’s substitutions in Manchester United’s 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest yesterday, and called Amad Diallo the only “undroppable” forward.
Speaking on Premier League Productions, via Football365, the former United midfielder registered his disbelief that captain Bruno Fernandes was withdrawn with the hosts desperately chasing a goal.
“I was amazed he went off,” he said. “He created a goal, scored another, and for some reason at the crucial part of the game when you need a goal you take him off?”
He continued that the United manager, who is rapidly grasping the scale of the job he has on his hands, will be rueing the decision.
“I’m guessing he’ll probably regret that because I thought Bruno was the one guy, everything was running through him.”
The Champions League winner credited Fernandes as one of the two true attacking threats United had on the pitch, along with Diallo.
The young Ivorian has been a revelation under the new United manager, who has been deploying him as a right wing-back.
And Hargreaves felt that pair are “the two where you’d say they’re going to create you something”.
Marcus Rashford was a notable absentee from the starting XI, although he entered the fray with half an hour to go when he replaced Alejandro Garnacho.
Hargreaves was reluctant to place the Englishman in Amorim’s best XI, a view many fans will echo based on his recent form.
“I think he’s an option but none of the boys at the top of the pitch are undroppable outside of Amad maybe,” said Hargreaves.
He also nodded towards another important player for Amorim, Noussair Mazraoui, and noted that he was taken aback that the Moroccan didn’t start the game.
“I was surprised Mazraoui didn’t play, I think he’s been Man United’s best player this season, but he probably wanted to give someone else an opportunity,” he said.
“I do think his team in the end will be Mazraoui, Yoro, Martinez, I think that’ll be his back three.”
Mazraoui replaced Leny Yoro after 66 minutes, with the young Frenchman’s minutes being carefully managed as he returns to full fitness.
It will be exciting to see if Hargreaves’ prediction comes true, with Mazraoui clearly a key player in the squad and Matthijs de Ligt having his fair share of struggles so far since joining the club.
Featured image Gareth Copley via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
