Wednesday night was a bad one in the history books of Manchester United, with Grimsby Town knocking the Red Devils out of the Carabao Cup.
Ruben Amorim was left lost for words at Blundell Park on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup second round, after watching his team be dominated in the first-half by a League Two side.
It was a completely inexcusable result and performance against an opposition which the players should have had enough to beat regardless of the formation.
Manchester United were completely off it from minute one, with Amorim not able to bring himself to watch the penalty shoot-out which ran for 26 penalties.
United were beaten 12-11 on penalties after drawing 2-2 in normal time, which did little to spare the blushes.
It is tough to see a way for Amorim to survive this situation, but one player can hold his head high after the humiliating defeat.
Kobbie Mainoo walking out for Manchester United.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Kobbie Mainoo has made himself a must start for Manchester United
In the build up to the game, Kobbie Mainoo was being heavily discussed due to his lack of minutes so far this season.
Mainoo had been linked with a move to Real Madrid, but he was always going to start this game, and he took this opportunity and ran with it.
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Starting the game, Mainoo played the entire 90 minutes however can be excluded from the humiliation as he was arguably United’s only good performer.
90 minutes
1 assist
1 shot
54/66 passes
2 chances created
81 touches
6/9 long passes
1/1 tackles
1 clearance
4 recoveries
3/6 ground duels won
2/2 aerial duels won
Mainoo assisted Bryan Mbeumo’s goal and was at the centre of most of United’s success, which was limited, but it demonstrated that Amorim has been wrong about him.
Having pigeon-holed Mainoo as the Bruno Fernandes back-up, the 20-year-old showed Amorim that in fact he might be better as the partner for the club captain as this pairing led to improvements in United’s performance.
Mainoo had been set to leave United, but this performance should show Amorim that he cannot allow this to happen.
Mainoo might have saved his Manchester United career and can save Ruben Amorim’s vs Burnley
Amorim’s big concern over playing Mainoo as a number six would be the possibility of being overran by opponents, but there was no difference in United’s defensive security with Mainoo there compared with Manuel Ugarte.
Mainoo however does offer so much more on the ball as he showcased on Wednesday as he dictated play and also showed some nice moments carrying the ball forward.
It might have only been against Grimsby, but when he was so much better than teammates, it is fair to say he deserves to start against Burnley.
If this doesn’t happen, there might be no saving Amorim.