Last Updated:
Amorim made a bold call ahead of the game to bench forwards Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, two of the highly-touted United players, and yet managed to pick up a win.
Ruben Amorim. (AP)
Manchester United rallied from a goal down to beat arch-rivals Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday in the Premier League to give new coach Ruben Amorim his first Manchester Derby triumph.
Late strikes from Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo gave the Red Devils a 2-1 win as they overturned Josko Gvardiol’s goal in the first half.
Amorim made a bold call ahead of the game to bench forwards Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, two of the highly-touted United players, and yet managed to pick up a win.
Amorim stated that the decision was a selection issue as he enumerated the basis on which he evaluates his players including their performance in the training grounds, the game and their engagement with the group.
“For me what is important is the performance in training, the performance in game, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with teammates and push teammates,” Amorim said.
“Everything is important in our context, the beginning of something when we want to change a lot of things when people in our club are losing their jobs,” the 39-year-old continued.
“We have to put our standards really high, and for that they have to fight for their place in their team,” the Portuguese gaffer added.
“Today we proved we can leave anybody out of the squad and you can manage to win if you play together,” he added.
Rashford and Garnacho have come under scrutiny for their inconsistency in performances and are no strangers to disciplinary issues in the past.
Amorim, however, added that he would offer everyone a clean slate going into the next game and that it was upto the players to stake a claim to the starting places.
“Next week, next game, new life and they are fighting for the places,” the United boss said.
Former United defender Gary Neville backed the bold call made by the Portuguese head coach and opined that he should find the right balance of players to support his preferred 3-4-3 formation.
“They’ve both been poor on the pitch, that’s a fact,” Neville said.
“And Amorim said the selection issue was down to performance and engagement with teammates. That means if they’ve not been good in the group. That’s why they weren’t here,” he explained.
“What he’s done is made a bold call. What he has to do is shake this club to its core,” the former United player said.
“He needs to make sure he’s brutal with it, really brutal. And he’s been brutal today,” he added.
Former United skipper Roy Keane challenged the United players to respond to the manager’s demands and stated that Amorim has put his foot down with the decision to leave out Rashford and Garnacho and yet managed to pick up a win in one of the marquee fixtures in the Premier League calendar.
“It’s a big talking point because he’s obviously seen things he doesn’t like,” he said.
“But for us it’s not a big surprise because both players have been poor and he has said enough is enough,” Keane added.
“He is putting a marker down. Let’s see how they react to it,” he stated.
- Location :
United Kingdom (UK)
