Ruben Amorim has just been given something he always wanted at Manchester United

It was hard not to feel disappointed at what could have been when Son Heung-min swung in a corner to douse Manchester United’s Carabao Cup dreams. Yet as the dust settles on the defeat, Ruben Amorim won’t be too concerned.

The Portuguese head coach could have used an early piece of silverware to justify the changes he has made so far, though he is well aware that he will be judged on the most prestigious prizes in world football rather than a secondary domestic cup competition.

Even if United had overcome Tottenham, there is no guarantee they would have gone on to reach the Wembley showpiece. It guarantees two free midweeks early next year: a blessing for Amorim.

Since he took charge during the November international week, when a host of senior players were away, United have played two matches a week without fail. It has been both a blessing and a curse. There have been two victories, over Bodo/Glimt and Viktoria Plzen, and two away defeats in North London at the hands of Arsenal and Tottenham. Those matches have allowed Amorim the opportunity to experiment with his squad and indoctrinate players to his style of play, though it has come at the cost of rest, and dedicated training sessions.

With two matches in a week, most of the time on the training ground is spent in recovery sessions as well as match preparation drills, which focus on specific tactical tweaks and set-piece routines depending on who their next opponents are. It means Amorim has still yet to have meaningful time to work with his squad on the wider tactical changes he wants to implement, something that makes his immediate impact that bit more impressive.

The Carabao Cup semi-finals take place across two legs - the first in the week commencing 6 January 2025, and the second in the week of 3 February 2025. United already face both Liverpool and Arsenal away between the first-leg dates and it feels like a blessing in disguise to avoid a double-header against either of them in the space of a few days.

Speaking after the Tottenham defeat, Amorim cited the lack of dedicated training sessions as part of the reason why his side have suffered several injury setbacks in recent weeks. “They work really hard, they want to return but like I said, the same thing with Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Vic, they had injuries, they don’t have space to train," he told MUTV. “Just preparing games is not perfect so we’ll try to do it again altogether to have the full squad because with this schedule we need the full squad.”

United might have lost their first chance at silverware this season, but what they have gained is two precious midweeks in which Amorim can work closely with his players. It could well prove to be a greater prize after all.