One Amorim decision vs Spurs ‘couldn’t have gone any worse’ for him, Utd will ‘rue’ how game panned out

Manchester United bowed out of the Carabao Cup after a seven-goal thriller culminated with them losing 4-3 to Tottenham Hotspur.

Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo’s second-half goals to decrease the deficit proved to be in vain when Son Heung-min extended Spurs’ lead on the brink of injury time. Jonny Evans then headed home from a set-piece, but the Reds were unable to level the tie in the remaining two minutes.

While it’s a chance of silverware gone, fans were pleasantly surprised with how United reacted when trailing. Ruben Amorim’s triple substitution of Amad, Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo also proved instrumental to tide shifting in the second half.

Ultimately, though, the side will ‘rue’ being on the losing end of tonight’s action-packed affair. If only they had started the game the same way they’d ended it, United would have likely booked their spot in the semi-finals and be only 270 minutes away from potentially lifting a third trophy in as many seasons.

Altay Bayindir flounders in rare start for United

As for Amorim, he’ll presumably be ruing one decision he made ahead of kick-off in the form of Altay Bayindir being given the nod, in what came as only his fourth start for the club since signing in September 2023.

The Turkish international was no match for Spurs’ relentless attackers and looked shaky from the get-go – something the hosts were quick to capitalise on.

“Bayindir inclusion couldn’t have gone any worse,” journalist Samuel Luckhurst said on X/Twitter after the full-time whistle. “United still went down with a fight with committed players in the XI and on the bench.”

Only at the beginning of December was it revealed that Bayindir was expected to be sold by the club in one of the next two transfer windows in 2025 amid claims that he is ‘simply too good’ to spend the peak years of his career watching on from the substitutes’ bench in Andre Onana’s shadow.