Manchester United
Amorim explains substitution decisions after Amad rescue ends United winning run
Amorim defended his substitutions after Amad rescued a 2–2 draw and United saw a winning run end….
Ruben Amorim defended his approach after Manchester United were held to a 2–2 draw at Nottingham Forest, a result that stopped the club’s run of consecutive wins. He said he feared bringing on another striker late in the game might have done more harm than good.
Amorim made attacking changes by introducing full backs Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui while leaving Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee among the substitutes. He replaced Diogo Dalot and Leny Yoro as he looked to create different crossing angles and movement from the flanks.
“Sometimes, if you put more strikers on, I don’t feel we are going to play better,” Amorim explained. “If you see Diogo Dalot, many times with space to make a cross but he has the right foot and is always coming inside, without space…
“With Patrick, we are going to do the same thing but, when you have the ball, got to the side and cross from the spaces there. Because, if you want to come inside, Matheus Cunha is always there to receive the ball.
“If you see the start of the second half, Leny is always the one with the space to run with the ball. Nous is a full back so I try to use the characteristics of the player. It’s not the quality because we have the quality on the bench.
“Also, if I stop the game all the time, I have the feeling I am going to break something. We were going to improve in the second half so the feeling was not to change anything.
“I know Amad can do much better, he is really dangerous one-on-one so, sometimes, we expect it just from that one guy. He was not doing a great game for us but managed to score. He has the potential to do so much better and we lost two points today.
“If [Kobbie] Mainoo and Mason Mount was there, also Josh [Zirkzee] and then you have to imagine the game. Josh is better like a little bit like Cunha, playing between the lines. If you see the game, we need a guy who needs to be inside the box. Ben [Šeško] is the best one to do that.
“Sometimes, it’s the characteristics of the game and they know that it’s just the moment. We try to do our best, it’s nothing to do with the quality on the bench. We have a lot of games where that happens.”
Amad Diallo’s late volley salvaged a point but the young winger was subdued after the final whistle, focusing on the draw rather than the quality of the finish.
“I don’t know if it is Goal of the Season,” he said. “We are really disappointed to go home with one point.
“It’s always difficult to play Nottingham Forest. We wanted to win this game coming from three in a row. We are a bit disappointed because we go home with one point. But we will learn from this.
“I think we have confidence now. We believe in the manager and we believe in the system. We are training to do the best. Everyone is now focused. We had three wins in the row and we wanted to make it four and were unlucky.
“We are doing things step by step and we believe in the manager like he believes in us. Every game for us is like a final. We wanted to bring this team to the top level. We wanted to win this game and we are disappointed as a team.”
Manchester United
Carrick Sticks to Brief Response on Manchester United Future After Chelsea Defeat
Carrick insists he expects to remain in charge as Manchester United prepare for Roma on Tuesday.
Michael Carrick kept his answer short when asked whether he would still be in charge for Manchester United’s meeting with Roma on Tuesday. His reply was simply: “Yes.”
The pressure on Carrick continues to rise with every setback, even though United produced a strong first half against Chelsea before the match shifted decisively after Lisandro Martínez was sent off in the 63rd minute. At a club where outcomes matter above everything else, that is the detail that will carry the most weight.
Carrick later told TNT Sports that he expects to still be manager for the Champions League game next week. He added: “I’m just looking forward to getting the boys ready for midweek now.”
For now, the signs suggest he may survive a little longer, but the situation remains fragile. After the final whistle at Stamford Bridge, supporters applauded Carrick, just as they had done after last weekend’s defeat to Bournemouth. The players, by contrast, were met with boos from the travelling fans.
“There is a lot of emotion,” Carrick said. “We’re a great football club, and we want to win football matches. The supporters come, make a lot of effort, pay a lot of money to watch us play. You can see from today the boys had the game in the right place and things have gone against us.
“Things have gone against us and gone against us in a big way. Unraveled quickly. There’s a lot of emotion right now. We have got to move forward and take the things that worked for us today. A lot of the good things, especially in the first half and use that moving forward.”
United’s recent run has brought more than one explanation. An incorrectly given goal from Enzo Fernández cost them in the Manchester derby, while Leny Yoro’s dismissal left them with 10 men in the 2–0 loss to Atlético Madrid. Injuries have also denied Carrick players such as Kobbie Mainoo, Benjamin Šeško, Luke Shaw and Patrick Dorgu for long stretches.
Even so, there is little to excuse the collapse against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup third round, or the heavy defeats to Como and Bournemouth. The club’s midfield rebuild looks badly off course, and the defence needed attention years ago.
Blame is shared among the players, Jason Wilcox and Carrick, but only the manager is under immediate threat. Roma now offers another test, and a difficult one at that. The Italian side have lost only once in all competitions this season, a 4–3 defeat to Real Madrid, and have been kept scoreless only once in 2026-27.
Chelsea
Fernandes restored to the starting XI as Carrick reshapes United for Chelsea
Fernandes returns to the XI and the armband as Carrick alters United’s midfield for Chelsea.
Bruno Fernandes is back in Manchester United’s starting side for Saturday’s clash with Chelsea, and he will also reclaim the captain’s armband.
Michael Carrick moved quickly to make clear that Fernandes had not been permanently relieved of the role, and the Portugal international now returns to lead United again. Before the match, Carrick said: “He’s the one that’s kind of led the team so well for many a game and many a year, and he’ll continue to do that,” Carrick promised before the game.
Fernandes is part of a changed United midfield, with summer signing Youri Tielemans dropping to the bench for the first time this season. Carlos Baleba and former Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos start behind him, while Fernandes is set to play further forward.
There is also a welcome return on the bench for Kobbie Mainoo, who has recovered from injury in time to make the matchday squad. He is joined among the substitutes by Chelsea academy graduate Mason Mount.
United’s starting XI is Lammens; Yoro, Maguire, Martínez, Dalot; Santos, Baleba; Amad, Fernandes, Cunha; Mbeumo. Their substitutes are Darlow, De Ligt, Heaven, Mazraoui, Mainoo, Mount, Tielemans, Lacey, Zirkzee.
Chelsea line up with Penders; Acheampong, Fofana, Colwil, Palestra; Caicedo, Lavia; Neto, Palmer, Estêvão; Rogers. Their substitutes are Sharman-Lowe, Subuloye, Gusto, Chavarría, Barco, Nicoll-Jazuli, Quenda, Emegha, Welbeck.
Carrick’s adjustments come amid a difficult spell for United. A run of eight matches without a win had fuelled expectations that his time at Old Trafford might be coming to an end, but club officials have decided to give him another opportunity to arrest the slide.
Chelsea
Carrick’s immediate challenges as pressure builds at Old Trafford
Carrick stays in post, but Fernandes, left-back concerns and academy calls all demand answers.
Michael Carrick is still in charge at Manchester United after a difficult week that left many expecting INEOS to act. That decision did not arrive, which means the manager heads into a major meeting with Chelsea under intense scrutiny.
Chelsea have had their own swing in fortunes. They followed a first Premier League clean sheet since January against Everton with a home league defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, only the second such result for a Chelsea manager since 1990, before also losing in the cup to Liverpool. Their clearest path to silverware has now gone.
Yet the attention on Carrick is much sharper. He may only have one more opportunity to prove his case before his position becomes untenable.
One of the key issues is Bruno Fernandes. Carrick felt he had to leave out his captain for Bournemouth’s visit to Old Trafford after Fernandes criticised his gameplan in the aftermath of the 4-1 defeat at Como. That public criticism cut deep, especially because Carrick had helped unlock the version of Fernandes who set the Premier League’s single-season assist record and won the PFA Player of the Year award last season. Under Carrick, Fernandes was restored as a playmaker and United functioned as a better collective.
Even so, United cannot rely on Fernandes alone. The team’s poor start has gone hand in hand with the midfielder’s struggles, but the Bournemouth defeat showed that dropping him was not a long-term answer.
Carrick also has a left-back problem that appears to have been worsened by decisions made in the summer. United looked for cover for Luke Shaw late in the window, but that chase ended once it became clear that Lewis Hall would not leave Newcastle United. With Shaw already missing multiple games through setbacks, the manager has been forced to improvise.
Diogo Dalot was used there last Sunday, with Mason Mount drifting infield, but the shape lacked balance and urgency. Marcus Rashford could be used to add thrust, while another option would be to alter the setup at right back. Carrick could also lean on the academy, with Shea Lacey making back-to-back substitute appearances and Harry Amass, Jack Fletcher, Jariyah Shah and Jim Thwaites in first-team training. Amass, who has already made two senior appearances this season, looks the likeliest candidate if a left-back change is made.
