Advertisement

I saw Amad interaction with Manchester United fans that showed his new status in Ruben Amorim's squad

-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited
-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited


Ruben Amorim's hopes of a first Manchester United trophy in the Carabao Cup are over after a thrilling tie in North London ended in a 4-3 win for Tottenham.

United had played well in the first half but a lack of cutting edge in the final third was costing them and a mistake from Altay Bayindir gifted Dominic Solanke the opener. When Dejan Kulusevski and Solanke scored in the first nine minutes of the second half, the tie looked over.

But United's play in possession had been encouraging all night and a triple change from Ruben Amorim got them back in the game, along with a nightmare few minutes for Tottenham goalkeeper Fraser Forster. Joshua Zirkzee scored from close range after Forster gifted possession to Bruno Fernandes, before Amad blocked a clearance into the goal.

READ MORE: 'Losing is never fun' - Joshua Zirkzee picks out positive from Man United defeat to Tottenham

READ MORE: 'I liked it' - Ruben Amorim praises Alejandro Garnacho for responding to Manchester United shock

Another Bayindir mistake, allowing Son Heung-min to score direct from a corner, put Tottenham 4-2 up before Jonny Evans' injury-time header made for a dramatic final couple of minutes.

Here are some of the things you might have missed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:

Amad's new status

United were threatening to get back in the game after Zirkzee's goal and built up a head of steam in front of their own fans. They had been playing well all night, and belief was beginning to return.

With just over 20 minutes to go another corner routine created a difficult chance for Amad, with the ball bobbling up at him. His effort was deflected narrowly wide and delivered another corner. It elicited a roar from the visiting fans and with momentum building Amad sensed the moment, waving both arms in the air to try and get more noise cascading down.

The 22-year-old has suddenly become a player who can make those gestures because his workrate matches the kind of effort those supporters would put in. To prove the point, he sprinted at Forster after Tottenham displayed their nerves with a negative corner routine that went back to the goalkeeper. When Forster dallied, Amad flew from nowhere to block the shot into the back of the net.

As he got the ball out the back of the net, he again turned to those fans to raise the noise. He did it again when Noussair Mazraoui fired a shot just off target, lifting the wing-back to his feet. It was a visible sign of the confidence and leadership in his game.

Wing-backs combine

The wing-backs are arguably the key positions in Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system, and for the first time at Tottenham, we saw the potential they have in this shape to combine to cause problems.

There might come a time when Amorim wants a more attacking option than the two fielded, Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot, and he might also want a left-footed option, but for now, that duo combined well.

Switches of play were the plan against a narrow Tottenham, particularly Mazraoui going cross-field to Dalot. On a few occasions, that long pass found the Portuguese in space down the left with space to attack Pedro Porro.

It wasn't a tactic confined to the wing-backs, with the midfielders occasionally dropping in to play the pass and Fernandes sometimes peeling to the left to try and receive it. It was something United had worked on, and it will be interesting to see if it's a tactic they keep in their armoury now.

Bayindir's promise

Altay Bayindir has now made four starts for United under three different managers, and Amorim has kept a promise to the Turkish goalkeeper that this would be his competition this season.

Bayindir played only once last season when Andre Onana was at the Africa Cup of Nations, and he has been disappointed in his lack of game time and the fact he has no chance of challenging or usurping Onana as the club's No.1.

But it makes those rare chances he does get all the more important, and the truth is the Turkish goalkeeper has rarely looked the part when he does play. He made a mess of Porro's straight shot and gifted Solanke a finish. Then he made a mess of Son's corner and that was that.

Rashford's standing with the fans

A hastily made banner from an unwanted bed sheet appeared draped over the first-tier hoardings just before kick-off, reading 'Excuses. Ta ra Marcus. M34 Danebank'.

In this instance, including a location for the orchestrators felt telling. This is Mancunians from Denton making it clear they have had enough of one of their own.

The banner was missed by the cameras broadcasting the game live, but it was evident in the stadium, and images started circulating online immediately. Rashford would surely be aware of it and wonder how it came to this.

An hour and a half earlier there were plenty of eyes trained on the United players as they made their way to the dressing rooms at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, via the side of the pitch, and not just for those awful leather biker jackets they've started wearing.

The fact that photographers didn't see Rashford boarding the train with the rest of the squad at Stockport on Wednesday afternoon was a clear indication he wasn't in the squad, but then Mazraoui wasn't seen travelling to Arsenal two weeks ago but still made the starting XI.

The sight of the players strolling behind the goal was further visual confirmation of Rashford's absence, as well as that of Matthijs de Ligt, although he was very much a side story. Rashford has been the story all week.

There were a few fans in already and the younger Spurs fans were still thrilled at the sight of United's players. A couple of young Portuguese children shouted at United's Portuguese contingent in their native tongue and got a smile. Amorim stopped to sign an autograph and pose for a selfie at the mouth of the tunnel.