Ruben Amorim had his blushes spared after Man United’s FA Cup win over Leicester (Image: Getty)
made a bizarre claim when asked why he decided to play newbie Patrick Dorgu on the right-hand side instead of his preferred position at left-wing-back.
United needed a last-minute header to edge past Leicester City on Friday night, with the Red Devils below par for much of the contest.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid opened the scoring for the visitors in the first period, with Joshua Zirkzee restoring parity midway through the second half before Maguire – – headed home the winning goal late on.
It keeps United’s trophy hopes alive this season, with the defending champions into the hat for the fifth round.
Friday’s match also marked the first opportunity for United fans to catch a glimpse of new signing Dorgu, who arrived as part of a £29million deal with Lecce.
But eyebrows were raised at kick-off when he lined up at right-wing-back, given the assumption was he’d been signed to play on the opposite flank instead.
Dorgu didn’t get long to showcase his talents – unfamiliar position or not – given he was hooked off at half-time with United trailing Leicester 1-0.
Understandably, it was a topic of discussion during Amorim’s post-most debrief, with the Portuguese tactician doubling down on his decision to deploy Dorgu off the right.
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Patrick Dorgu made his Manchester United debut vs Leicester City (Image: Getty)
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Speaking after the match, Amorim said: “He has pace, he has strength. He will improve a lot. We as a team need to play better to help these new guys. You can see on Wyscout that he played both sides.”
It was an unusual assessment, but given Amorim only granted Dorgu 45 minutes off the right before hooking him at half-time, it’s unlikely the former Sporting coach was too happy with what he saw.
It came on another lacklustre night for the rest of his United players, who still appear at odds with Amorim’s new-look system.
Reflecting on the game in general, Amorim told ITV: “We had to believe until the end but this game has nothing to do with the time of Fergie. I think the performance, we have to do so much better with the ball, without the ball.
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“We didn’t have any energy in the beginning, especially in the first-half. Then in the second half we played a little bit better, with a little more speed, winning second balls. Then we managed to turn things around so it was a good result not a good performance.
“The coach is the first responsible, when one team doesn’t perform, doesn’t improve, it is the coach but we are here to do things and to see the game, to study the game and try to improve for the next game.
“I think it’s the small things, if you see the games sometimes it’s to control the ball, to have the ball, don’t give the ball away in the first pressure. It’s the small things, it’s the big things, it’s everything.
“It’s this moment, it’s hard away but especially at home but we have to cope with that and we will try to do it next game.”
United will discover their opponents for the next round of the FA Cup on Monday evening.