In Tottenham's loss to Aston Villa, Ange Postecoglou used a reserve squad to save energy for key players ahead of the Europa League final which took place 5 days later. In contrast, Ruben Amorim deployed a squad that was considered Man United's strongest in their away trip to Stamford Bridge.
Explaining this, the Portuguese strategist said that he wanted to create competition within the team to get a starting position in the Europa League final. Amorim hopes the players will achieve the necessary sharpness or at least increase their confidence after the confrontation with Chelsea.
Man United would have almost scored if Harry Maguire had not been offside. That is the way the "Red Devils" have used it this season: holding firm, counter-attacking quickly and choosing a surprise like Maguire to make a breakthrough. It was a pity that Marc Cucurella's header led to the Red Devils suffer their 18th Premier League defeat since the start of the season.
In the post-match press conference, Amorim said he had a clearer view of the starting lineup for the Europa League final taking place five days later.
The most disappointing position is still center forward Rasmus Hojlund. Amorim also pointed out many mistakes of the Danish striker such as ball retention, positioning, duels, etc. The 40-year-old coach attached a few words of encouragement to his student but it seems that this position will change at San Mames Stadium.
During the match, Bruno Fernandes was quite upset about Hojlund's deadlock when receiving the ball from his teammate. Hojlund has apologized to his captain twice for his shaky moves. Not only Bruno, Casemiro also appeared uncomfortable about his junior's ability to block the ball sloppyly.
If we look at this season's Europa League journey, especially in the pre-final matches in the knockout round, every time Man United put the ball in the penalty area, the most expected person who can make a breakthrough is... Harry Maguire. It was this central defender who put the ball into Chelsea's net after entering the penalty area.
Another uncertainty for Ruben Amorim is whether he will have to choose Alejandro Garnacho or Mason Mount to start. In the second leg of the semi-final against Athletic Bilbao, Mount came off the bench and scored a superb double.
Although Garnacho did not score in many matches, he had a very clear effect in weakening the opponent's defense. It may not be until the last minute that Amorim can choose the main striker in the 3-man attack with Bruno and Hojlund.
With the current form of midfield and defense personnel, Amorim may not need to worry too much. However, arranging who will play from the start in attack will be a very difficult problem, forcing him to have a definitive solution if he does not want to fall into the frustration in the final match at San Mames.
