Ruben Amorim celebrated three points as Manchester United won 1-0 at Fulham.
United travelled to Fulham on Sunday night, the only place in the capital where the Reds have won since Erik ten Hag took charge in the summer of 2022, not including the FA Cup penalty shootout victory over Arsenal.
A dire first-half saw United register just one shot all half in a complete snoozefest, which also failed to get going after the break. The deadlock was eventually, and thankfully, broken when Lisandro Martinez’s deflected effort from distance spun into the top corner, finally adding some life into the occasion.
Amad thought he had found himself on the scoresheet again in added time but VAR ruled out a second goal for the visitors. Here, Daily Star Sport looks at what Amorim would have learned from a cagey evening at Craven Cottage
Coming into the game, United had only scored 10 away goals all season, one of the worst records in the league. And again it was a frustrating evening for the forwards.
Rasmus Hojlund led the line but surrendered possession 10 times from 17 touches in the first-half, eventually being hooked off for Joshua Zirkzee early on in the second-half. United also only registered one shot in the entire first 45 minutes, which went off target from Matthijs de Ligt.
A free-kick placed under the wall from Bruno Fernandes that narrowly went the wrong side of the post was the closest and miserably the best chance they had. Martinez’s opener came from a speculative effort, the kind of goal where close games can be won, but far from a reliable source of finding the back of the net with regularity.
Having appeared to settle on Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo being his midfield pairing, Amorim opted to drop Bruno Fernandes deeper as Mainoo was named on the bench.
Ugarte battled away on his own, making five tackles in the first half and later picked up a booking. While Fernandes failed to even make a challenge in the opening 45 minutes as he attempted to play more of a playmaking role.
Toby Collyer’s introduction for Ugarte after the Uruguayan entered the book saw him called into action before Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro – either a glowing sign of faith in Collyer or a worry for Mainoo.
Mainoo was eventually brought on after United took the lead, replacing Alejandro Garnacho and pushing Fernandes further forward. While Collyer saved United's points with an incredible goal-line clearance in the closing minutes.
United have been heavily linked with Lecce left-wing-back Patrick Dorgu and have made multiple bids which have been rebuffed. But the Red Devils are likely to return and while question marks will be there over Dorgu’s inexperience at just 20 and played in only his second senior season, the need for a left-footed player on the left-hand side is vital - just look at the impressive Antonee Robinson’s impact on proceedings, who should be top of Amorim’s shortlist.
While Noussair Mazraoui has fared fine enough on the left, his tendency to drift inside where he can use his stronger right-foot often constricts United’s width, similarly when Diogo Dalot is deployed on the left.
The additional width and directness down the flank would seemingly add a creative dimension to Amorim’s system which has so far been missing, not to his own fault.
Comments
Leave a Comment