Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has explained his decision to play defender Harry Maguire as a makeshift forward in the final moments of the defeat to Nottingham Forest.
United suffered a 1-0 defeat to third-placed Forest at the City Ground, thanks to Anthony Elanga’s first-half effort against his former side, but came close to equalising through Maguire with virtually the last kick of the game.
The substitute climbed off the bench in the 88th minute and poked his effort towards goal, only to see it cleared off the line by Murillo with seconds to go in the game.
“In the end of the game, when the opponent is protecting the box, they are comfortable,” Amorim said 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.”
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Nottingham Forest’s win against Manchester United in the Premier League
United had a total of 23 shots on the evening, six of them being on target, but were unable to call Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels into any form of meaningful action until he was beaten by Maguire’s effort, only to be rescued by the timely boot of team-mate Murillo.
When asked about United’s struggles in front of goal, Amorim continued: “That is clear. We created some chances but we could create more with the possession we had.
“We reached the final third a lot of times but we need to be better. It is important to score goals and we have a lack of goals.
Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim looks on after his side went behind at Nottingham Forest
“We put Forest in the place they wanted to be. They have fast players in transitions, we pushed forward but in the final third, we were not good enough.”
Man Utd strikers flatter to deceive
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones:
Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund remain a hot topic of debate for Manchester United after the pair flattered to deceive with their output yet again in the 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Zirkzee played 78 minutes at the City Ground and failed to have a shot, register a touch in the Forest penalty area or create a single chance for his team-mates. The game seemed to pass him by as the usual protagonists for United in terms of making things happen in Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho led the charge on that front.
Zirkzee is now without a goal in the Premier League since December 1.
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Clinton Morrison says he disagrees with Ruben Amorim’s decision to place Rasmus Hojlund on the bench against Nottingham Forest
That’s 17 appearances ago.
Hojlund sprung from the bench at the break and did manage to get at least one shot away in his cameo but that was as good as it got in another tame performance.
Both Zirkzee and Hojlund just seem to have issues getting on the end of things. There isn’t much wrong at the moment with United’s build-up but there are such little striking instincts or even what looks a desire to go and make a difference inside the box from the pair.
That was perfectly exemplified by Harry Maguire, who was thrust up front as an emergency centre-forward on 88 minutes. In that time – eight minutes in total – 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.
When Maguire is proving more of a threat in your position in just eight minutes, it starts to become embarrassing for the two misfiring United centre-forwards.
