“Best player in the team” – Amorim defends bizarre call stemmed by ’embarrassing’ duo | OneFootball

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim explained why he had to bring in Harry Maguire as an extra marksman in the final minutes against Nottingham Forest.

The former Leicester City star is one of the most renowned centre-backs on the globe. But upon making his return from injury at the City Park on Tuesday night, he was thrust on the opposite end of the pitch.

Desperate for a late equaliser, Amorim turned to the big defender, deploying him as a striker alongside Rasmus Hojlund.

In the end, the result remained unchanged, with Anthony Elanga’s early strike proving to be the solitary difference between the two sides.

After the contest, the manager was asked about his curious decision, and he noted that the England international is the best player in the team when it comes to attacking set pieces.

“At the end of the game, when the opponent is protecting the box, they are comfortable,” said the Portuguese boss in his post-match press conference.

“We can reach the final third but we have to put the ball into the box, as it is hard to make the combinations. Harry Maguire, when he is attacking set pieces, is maybe the best player in the team.

“Inside the box, you are not a defender, you are a striker. Put one man who is really good in there to score the goal.”

Ruben Amorim applauds Harry Maguire after impressive cameo upfront

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Truth be told, Amorim didn’t need to justify this particular call, as the outcome was telling enough. Despite his limited time on the pitch, Maguire came the closest to scoring for United, as his last-ditch effort was cleared off the line by Murillo.

On the other hand, Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee were almost anonymous in the final third, as Sky Sports highlighted what they described as ’embarrassing’ stats. The Dutch striker hasn’t scored in 17 Premier League contests, while the Dane had recently ended a 21-match drought across all competitions, but didn’t look like scoring on Tuesday

“Maguire had three shots, six touches in the opposition box and posted an expected goals figure of 0.59. Amazingly, he accumulated more expected goals in those eight minutes than Hojlund has in his last 15 appearances,” noted Sky.

Needless to say, Man Utd will be desperate for a top-notch Number 9 in the summer, and they’re already being linked with a host of potential candidates, including the likes of Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyokeres.