Strange subs, weird fascination with playing Dalot costs Amorim as United battle back to earn late point vs Forest

Manchester United equalised late on to escape the City Ground with a point as their Premier League encounter against Nottingham Forest ended 2-2 on Saturday. Given how poor Forest have been this season, United were expected to put on a dominant display and things went according to plan in the first half. It was the Red Devils who took the lead through Casemiro and looked the better side in the first 45 minutes. But things unravelled fast in the second half. The hosts scored twice within the first five minutes of the restart, with Diogo Dalot caught ball-watching for the second. Dalot has a mistake in him every game The Portugal international makes a mistake almost every game, yet the head coach often places his trust in him inexplicably. With the visitors lacking energy and attacking impetus, Ruben Amorim decided to make a couple of strange substitutions — bringing on Patrick Dorgu in place of Dalot, and Noussair Mazraoui for Leny Yoro. Dalot deserved to be subbed off, and Dorgu did bring energy out on the left, but this strange fascination for tweaking things at the back in-game made zero sense. Amorim often resorts to subbing off a centre-back when United need a goal. Harry Maguire, who can be a danger in the box, made sense but Mazraoui is hardly that box monster. The likes of Joshua Zirkzee or Mason Mount should have been the go-to players for United as Benjamin Sesko was almost invisible in the second half. Strange subs from Ruben Amorim But Amorim resisted, and ultimately, Amad saved his blushes with a wonder strike from the edge of the box to level things up late on. The Ivorian could have scored the winner in added time, but another brilliant strike was thwarted by a goal-line clearance from Murillo. The result proved that the 20-time English league champions are not yet good enough for a top-four finish, but Amorim will be pleased with the late fightback. United are up to fifth in the standings, level on points with third-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have a game in hand. Feature image Michael Regan 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