Ruben Amorim suffered another setback in the Premier League as Manchester United were beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest.
It was a frustrating evening for the Red Devils, with Anthony Elanga stinging his former side by scoring the only goal of the game early on.
Manchester United showed signs of promise and Ruben Amorim was pleased with the performance, but ultimately his side lacked quality up front.
Alejandro Garnacho struggled to keep his shots on target, while Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund both struggled to make an impact inside Forest’s box.
As United pushed for an equaliser, Ruben Amorim turned to his bench for reinforcements. Mason Mount made his return from injury but there was a clear lack of attacking options.
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Ruben Amorim sent Harry Maguire message to Ineos
United dominated possession against Forest and also created far more chances than their opponents. United took 23 shots compared to Forest’s eight.
However, the Red Devils failed to find the back of the net and in the final few minutes, Amorim got desperate.
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In hope of an equaliser, Harry Maguire was brought off the bench and instructed to play up front alongside Hojlund.
When explaining the decision after the match, Amorim claimed that Maguire is United’s best aerial threat so he was thrown on to try and disrupt Forest’s backline.
It almost worked, with Maguire coming extremely close to equalising before his effort was cleared off the line by Murillo in injury time.
Maguire did win all three of his aerial duels after coming on and accrued an expected goal (xG) tally of 0.6 – higher than both Hojlund and Zirkzee.
Ruben Amorim is asking for a new striker at Man United
Regardless of how good Maguire is in the air, Amorim will want better attacking options on his bench in the future.
Amorim views Zirkzee as a No.10, which leaves Hojlund as the only natural striker in United’s squad.
The budget might be tight this summer, but Amorim made it extremely clear to Ineos that he needs another striker or two brought into the club this summer.
READ MORE: Matheus Cunha comments will spark Manchester United hope, but he needs to have full faith in Ruben Amorim’s plans
United continue to be linked with Viktor Gyokeres, but the Swedish star is also attracting interest from Arsenal.
Another option on the table is for United to target Victor Osimhen this summer, but the 26-year-old will not come cheap.