‘Unbelievable tenacity’: Credit to Amorim for his game-changing subs, two Reds have been pivotal

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·19 December 2024

‘Unbelievable tenacity’: Credit to Amorim for his game-changing subs, two Reds have been pivotal

Ruben Amorim’s substitutions when Manchester United were 3-0 down have proven absolutely game-changing.

The boss opted to pull Antony, Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund from the action and replace them with youthful trio Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee.

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Trailing by three goals was seemingly what the Reds needed to put their feet on the gas, as they looked an entirely different side after Dominic Solanke netted his second of the night.

Bruno Fernandes was relentless in his efforts to close down the Spurs defence and, eventually, his efforts were rewarded when the hosts were trying to play along their own byline. The captain intercepted, after which Zirkzee was in the right place at the right time to tap home a real poacher’s goal.

Amad and Zirkzee came so close to orchestrating another United turnaround

(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Then, Amorim’s derby-day hero Amad could smell blood when pressing the uneasy Fraser Forster. The goalkeeper received the ball from youngster Archie Gray and, despite initially being under no pressure, took a heavy touch which Amad was able to latch on to and turn the ball into the net, leaving Forster red-faced.

Gary Neville hailed the Ivorian livewire’s ‘unbelievable tenacity’ on Sky Sports’ commentary. If fans thought he was undroppable heading into tonight’s tie, his scintillating showing has only cemented that fact.

“Amad, it’s difficult to do without a player like him,” Amorim admitted pre-match. “But you have to protect the player in certain games and I chose this game. I trust the other players.

“We need freshness against a team that has a lot of speed.”

You’d expect he’ll be restored to the line-up when United welcome Bournemouth to Old Trafford on Sunday, while Zirkzee is also deserving of a start.