Ruben Amorim’s decisive substitutions changed the game for Man United vs Southampton but concerns remain

Three goals in the space of the last 12 minutes changed the complexion of the game as Manchester United eventually ran out 3-1 winners against bottom-of-the-table Southampton at Old Trafford on Thursday.

It was the visitors who were the better side for most of the game with Andre Onana forced to produce a couple of top-drawer saves to deny the Saints from scoring more than one.

And ultimately, Amad Diallo, like he has done plenty of times in the recent past, single-handedly took the game by the scruff of its neck and netted a glorious hattrick to ensure another famous comeback win for the Red Devils.

After a difficult evening, a stirring late fightback can often distort the facts but Ruben Amorim will realise his team were really lucky on the night.

Rasmus struggled again

The defence, which held firm in glorious fashion away at the Emirates less than a week ago, looked extremely fragile against a team which had not scored a set-piece goal before today.

Ivan Juric’s side could have scored multiple times while the home side spurned two glorious chances of their own, through Alejandro Garnacho and Antony.

But the biggest worry for the head coach will be the form of his go-to striker at the moment, Rasmus Hojlund. He has looked lost on his own in most Premier League games but the Dane was expected to do better against a struggling side like Southampton.

But none of the 21-year-old’s touches came off, and he often failed to hold on to the ball under pressure and it was unsurprising to see Joshua Zirkzee being brought on early in the second half.

The Dutchman was a breath of fresh air, using his body to great effect to win the ball in aerial and ground duels while he managed to turn and play the right ball most of the time as well, thereby slowly putting the visitors back under pressure.

He won the assist for Amad’s equaliser, and on current evidence, the former Bologna ace deserves to start ahead of the hapless Hojlund.

Eriksen, Zirkzee changed the game

Amorim was not afraid of making substitutions early in the game and they paid off in the end. Kobbie Mainoo, who struggled in the first half, did not emerge for the second 45 minutes.

And after the hosts had equalised, Amorim immediately brought on Christian Eriksen, sensing the brittleness at the back for the Saints, and the Denmark international made an immediate impact.

His delicious dink over the static backline found the onrushing Ivorian who made no mistake in what as yet another difficult chance made to look very easy.

Amorim had said he would learn a great deal about his players from the game and despite the win, the team did not paint a pretty picture of themselves.

Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images

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