Manchester United returned to Old Trafford for another Premier League encounter on Thursday evening, just 10 days after whimpering to a 1-0 defeat against 10-man Everton. West Ham were the visitors on this occasion, and once again the home side were unable to claim victory.
United were thwarted by the Hammers throughout the match, but thought they had found a winner with just under an hour on the clock when Diogo Dalot lashed an effort past goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. But West Ham claimed a share of the spoils when Soungoutou Magassa slammed the ball home after United were unable to clear a corner. And Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim may be questioning his decision-making in the aftermath of the encounter.
Amorim made three changes to the United side that defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 on Sunday as Noussair Mazraoui, Ayden Heaven and Matheus Cunha came into the starting line-up.
But United lacked a cutting edge in the final third as forwards Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Joshua Zirkzee came up against an inspired Hammers backline.
The 13-time Premier League champions have faltered in front of goal against organised defences this season, with Arsenal, Manchester City and Everton all keeping clean sheets against them. And Amorim’s side were hardly prolific against their east London visitors on Thursday.
United may have found a way past Areola, but one goal is often not enough to win football matches – and so it proved in this clash.
The Red Devils desperately needed their manager to impact the game from the bench and inject a fresh energy into the team in the latter stages of the match as they clung to their slender advantage.
But after replacing Heaven with Leny Yoro at the interval, the Portuguese coach refused to make any more substitutions until he introduced Patrick Dorgu in the 68th minute. He then brought on Manuel Ugarte in the 77th minute, before calling upon Mason Mount moments later.
Amorim currently has a lack of attacking options at his disposal, with Dorgu just as accustomed to playing in defence as he is to playing on the wing.
That means Mount was the only experienced attacking player introduced off the bench against West Ham, with the Englishman coming on after Cunha, Joshua Zirkzee and Dalot had all made way.
Maybe the changes would have looked satisfactory had United not conceded an equaliser. But with the score level at 1-1, Amorim made one final throw of the dice in the 88th minute as he attempted to inspire his side to victory with his last change.
With time running out, the former Sporting boss turned to yet another defender in an attempt to change the outcome of the match as he threw on Lisandro Martinez in the place of Luke Shaw. But the substitution didn’t have the desired effect as West Ham saw out the draw.
Amorim should ask himself why he left it so late to make his substitutions. And he should also consider why his changes were so defensive when he also had 18-year-old winger Shea Lacey on the bench. Amorim needs to be braver with his decisions when it matters. He’ll get his rewards in the long run.