From substitutions to complete defeat in formation - a deep review of how Amorin ended Manchester United s European dream with his own hands

Manchester United missed the last chance to save the worst season in club history, losing to Tottenham in the UEFA Cup final, resulting in missing the European Cup next season. This article briefly analyzes the core reasons for the Red Devils' collapse and why coach Amorin's decision has caused strong doubts.

1. Garnacho was on the bench with a sluggish side, and Amorin's biggest defeat

Before the game, Garnacho was extremely dissatisfied with the substitute arrangement. But the question is not only whether the Argentine winger is in better shape than Mount, but from a tactical perspective, Amorin's choice is almost absurd.

This starts with Tottenham's tactical style under Postkoglu. One of its core features is the high-level defensive system. Faced with this kind of defense, speed player Garnacho is obviously more suitable to impact the space behind the defense than Mount, who is slower. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that in the 0-0 deadlock stage, Tottenham will continue the high-pressure tactics at the beginning.

But if it enters the second half (especially after Tottenham takes the lead), this tactic will inevitably be adjusted. And Amorin's plan was to send Garnacho at this time. The game progress fully confirms this: Tottenham leads 1-0 and shrinks its defense line, and the space behind them is gone.

To crack intensive defense, Mount, who is good at working in narrow spaces, is obviously more threatening. Garnacho's advantage lies in the blasting ability in the open area, and at this time there is no room for implementation. In short, Amorin's substitution logic is confusing.

2. Lineup arrangement controversy: Xiao served as the third central defender, and Ugat was abandoned by

Amorin's deployment was questioned again. He included Luke Shaw in the three-center-back system, perhaps because he was interested in his ability to play in order to deal with oppression. But Xiao is far from his best condition at present, and Tottenham's oppression focuses on the left side of his guard, rather than the side of the young player Yoro on the right. result? Xiao made many pass mistakes.

He also failed to win in the key confrontation that determines the outcome, considering that Tottenham is physically crushing Brennan Johnson on the right, this was predictable. Deprecating Ugat is also surprising. The Uruguayan midfielder performed steadily in previous matches in the UEFA Cup. The choice of not allowing him to start, but instead pulling Bruno Fernandez back to the midfielder position triggered a chain of negative reactions: the captain was in a sluggish state; the

Bruno stayed away from the No. 10 position and caused a sharp reduction in offensive threat; the midfield defensive loopholes intensified.

could have maintained tactical balance through simple adjustments: for example, let Amad Diallo serve as the right wingback, Mazravi re-plays the central defender to replace Shaw, and Ugat took the lead in the midfield to liberate Bruno to the frontcourt.

3. Recurrence of structural problems: offense and defense conversion exposed huge gaps

This is a chronic disease throughout the season, and the finals broke out again. Amorin continued the "extremely widening" tactics of the Portuguese sports period, trying to create space. However, facing higher-level opponents (especially Premier League teams) and Manchester United's existing lineup, this system seems to be unacceptable. The fundamental problem is that this Manchester United lacks the technical ability and calm mind to maintain ball control under high pressure. result? The team either gave a gift to Tottenham for a fatal mistake (such as the second goal conceded), or failed to maintain high-intensity running, resulting in frequent structural loopholes during offense and defense conversions. The problem of lack of support on the

side roads is particularly prominent. Taking Diallo as an example, he was stuck in an isolated situation of 1v2 or even 1v3 many times, but he could not find the response point.

4. The substitution adjustment was slow, Mount and Xiao once again proved that they were not worthy of such a long playing time, and neither of them had reached a competitive state that could support the entire game. Hoylund struggles equally, while the more flexible and more technical Zilkerze should have had a better solution, at least he should have made a debut earlier in the second half.

It is worth noting that Amorin never made radical offensive adjustments. For example, Diallo can be replaced by a wingback and remove one defender and add a forward. But the final tactic was still simple and rough cross bombing, and even Maguire was sent as the center at the last moment. This "life-saving move" that once worked was declared unsuccessful in this game.