Manchester United will be reliving the Europa League final defeat over the next few months, and Ruben Amorim will rue his decisions.
After all the hype and excitement ahead of the final over in Bilbao, it ended up being a night to forget for Manchester United, with few positives to take.
Ruben Amorim claimed that United were the better team; however, that meant nothing when his side failed to create a single clear chance against Spurs, who sit 17th in the Premier League.
This is a humbling new low for United, with Amorim making a handful of mistakes with his team. The Red Devils didn’t look up for it at all, and in truth didn’t deserve to win despite being the more dominant team in the statistics.
Spurs won the final 1-0 through a scrappy Luke Shaw own goal, which is a deflating way to lose a final, but is a testament to the lack of attacking threat this United team possesses.
One big decision Amorim made was starting Mason Mount over Alejandro Garnacho, something the Argentine disagreed with.
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Alejandro Garnacho sent a message before Manchester United lost the Europa League final
Before a ball was even kicked, there were signs of concern within United.
Amorim suggested that the Europa League meant nothing for United, a sure-fire way to demotivate the team.
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Meanwhile, prior to the game, Alejandro Garnacho was on Instagram and shared images of him scoring against Manchester City in the FA Cup final last season.
At the time, this looked like he was reminiscing, but after he was dropped for the final in place of Mount, it seems clear this was in fact an act of defiance toward Amorim, with a message he should be starting.
Garnacho remained on the bench until the 71st minute in the game, which is a decision Amorim will soon come to regret, as the 20-year-old was right in his belief he should have started.
Ruben Amorim proven wrong over Alejandro Garnacho decision
One of Amorim’s big mistakes in the final was starting Mount ahead of Garnacho, with the Englishman having a poor performance and offering very little, yet somehow lasting the majority of the game.
When substituted on, Garnacho had an immediate impact for United as he was direct, dangerous, and offered more immediately than Mount.
Garnacho created more and had a bigger impact despite getting less than half the time, showing Amorim that he should have been named in the starting line-up.
If he had started, United may have been a bigger threat in the first half and capitalised on early pressure, but this is a decision which Amorim will have to live with as it cost him a trophy.