'Not the plan' - Ruben Amorim did something he didn't think he would in Manchester United draw vs Bournemouth
Man Utd scored late on to draw 1-1 with AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League at the weekend.
Ruben Amorim admits he did not plan to play Luke Shaw for the entirety of Manchester United's draw with AFC Bournemouth at the weekend. Rasmus Hojlund scored a stoppage-time equaliser as United salvaged a point and gave themselves some positive momentum ahead of the huge Europa League semi-final tie against Athletic Club.
United made five changes to their starting line up for the trip to the Vitality Stadium as Amorim looked to manage the fitness of his squad ahead of a pivotal week in their season. One of those changes saw Shaw handed his first club start in 434 says, though the plan was not for him to play as long as he did.
The 29-year-old was on the pitch for over 100 minutes when you accounted for the additional time in both halves, and he grew into the match as it progressed. Shaw initially struggled with the intensity of the clash but showed real signs of promise when Bournemouth were reduced to 10 men.
Luke Shaw was not expected to play the entire match
Not only was the Bournemouth match the first time Luke Shaw had started for Manchester United in 14 months, but it was also only his sixth appearance of the season in total. The defender was rested entirely when United lost to Wolves a week ago, and there are doubts over whether he will be fit enough to feature against Athletic Club on Thursday night.
In an ideal world, Ruben Amorim would have substituted Shaw on Sunday afternoon, but he felt he could not replace the left-back in a match United felt they could still salvage.
"It was not the plan to have 90 minutes but you need to win games," Amorim said. "And you could feel that he was overloaded in that part of the field. He’s really good on crosses, he’s really good in the final third decision, he has a lot of quality. When we are losing or drawing, you don’t think about the next game. You need to win. I was not focused on the next game."
Amorim was at least able to afford Noussair Mazraoui a little rest during the match and substituted the defender in the 75th minute when Chido Obi took his place. There are no injury concerns over the Moroccan and he is expected to start in the Europa League on Thursday night. "I think he’s okay," Amorim confirmed. "He’ll be ready but in these kind of situations, in this moment, anything that could be a danger for a player that in one position, we lost (Diogo) Dalot, we tried to save that."