Man Utd ritual slammed as Ruben Amorim almost costs them again: 'It's too dangerous'

Former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has slammed Ruben Amorim for repeatedly switching his centre-backs during matches. The Portuguese boss' tactical tinkering nearly cost Manchester United dearly in Saturday's 2-1 triumph over Chelsea when Trevoh Chalobah netted a late consolation goal.

United had appeared comfortable with a 2-0 advantage at Old Trafford after Robert Sanchez saw red in the fifth minute. But the contest was levelled in terms of personnel when second goalscorer Casemiro received his marching orders on the stroke of half-time, allowing the Blues to mount a late surge as Chalobah found the net unmarked in the penalty area.

Crucially, it was substitute Leny Yoro, who came on for Harry Maguire on 70 minutes, who was best placed to deal with the cross that resulted in Chalobah's consolation. United's vulnerability at set pieces is well-documented, though much of that anxiety has stemmed from concerns over goalkeepers Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana, who is now on loan at Trabzonspor.

Nevertheless, Maguire remains amongst the club's most accomplished defenders when dealing with dead-ball situations, both offensively and defensively. And there's arguably a case to suggest he may have been better positioned to thwart Chalobah's effort.

"You change the personnel all the time," said Walcott on It's Called Soccer! (via the Manchester Evening News) earlier this week. "The centre-halves... my centre-halves at Arsenal never got changed. Or at Arsenal now, centre-halves do not get changed. Do not change your back four.

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"Wingers get changed, which is annoying. I always used to get subbed and thought, 'Okay, I've done my job.' It was generally the pattern. [But] centre-halves? Don't change that. It's too dangerous for me."

Presenter Rebecca Lowe backed that view and noted Amorim "does it every single game." And the evidence speaks for itself.

Amorim has switched at least one central defender in five of United's six fixtures across all competitions this term. The sole match where he refrained from doing so was the 3-2 triumph over Burnley last month, though even then, Noussair Mazraoui came on for Yoro in the closing stages and operated as a third centre-half before Bruno Fernandes' late winner.

Maguire's withdrawal seemed particularly baffling given his solid display before being hauled off. The England star was even credited with the assist for Casemiro's strike after making his mark in the Chelsea penalty area.

Maguire typically finds himself as the centre-back entering from the substitutes' bench between the 60 and 80-minute period. Yet some supporters questioned the choice to field him instead of Yoro against Chelsea at the weekend.

"He [Amorim] does it every single game, Theo," Lowe added. "He changes a centre-half, and he puts on Harry Maguire, it feels like, every single game."

Despite being benched in favour of a defensive trio consisting of Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Luke Shaw, Maguire has shown flashes of brilliance this season. Yet the £80million man can't seem to escape the spotlight, even when he's not playing.

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