“Inexcusable” – Luckhurst bewildered by Amorim’s decision which cost Man Utd two points | OneFootball

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has been identified as the main culprit behind Thursday’s disappointing draw against West Ham United.

The Red Devils had the opportunity to climb to fifth in the Premier League standings. They only had to beat their struggling visitors at Old Trafford.

The home side appeared to be on the right track to register their second win in a row, as Diogo Dalot gave them the lead after the break. However, the team increasingly dropped back as the match wore on, leaving the initiative to the Hammers.

Samuel Luckhurst believes Amorim substitutions are to blame for Man United draw

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Man Utd were eventually punished by this approach, as Soungoutou Magassa pounced on the rebound to grab a late equaliser, ending the contest in a 1-1 draw.

Like many other journalists, fans and pundits, Samuel Luckhurst pointed the finger towards Amorim’s decision-making.

The Sun journalist felt that the manager’s substitutions were to blame for United’s unnecessarily deep stance.

“Boos at FT. Utterly uninspiring from MUFC,” posted Luckurst on his X account at the end of the match.

“Amorim’s changes to the starting XI didn’t work but worse than that were his subs. Opting for four defensive subs in the second half against 18th-placed side at home is inexcusable.

Were Amorim’s changes too defensive?

Luckhurst may have agreed with the first substitution, as he himself had noted that Ayden Heaven was having a torrid evening. The young Englishman made way for Leny Yoro at the interval.

However, the changes he was referring to were the following four, beginning with Patrick Dorgu for Diogo Dalot (amid a reported injury scare), followed by Manuel Ugarte and Mason Mount for Matheus Cunha and Joshua Zirkzee, and finally Lisandro Martinez for Luke Shaw, which came following West Ham’s equaliser.

Throughout all of these changes, Amorim maintained his 3-4-2-1 formation, but had to shuffle some players across various roles. For instance, Bruno Fernandes started in the double pivot, but returned to his original role as an attacking midfielder following Cunha’s exit.

Bryan Mbeumo also started the evening as a right winger/attacking midfielder, but found himself leading the line when Zirkzee was hauled off.

Therefore, many, like Luckhurst, felt that Amorim sent a negative message with his changes, instead of urging his players forward to kill off the match with another goal.