Ruben Amorim has revealed why he snubbed Benjamin Sesko in the first half of his side’s 3-2 victory over Burnley – and why his new £75million striker took the 10th penalty at Grimsby.
When Matheus Cunha went down clutching his hamstring early on at Old Trafford on Saturday, a grimacing Amorim was left with a decision to make.
For many of the rafters packed into the Stretford End, the answer seemed obvious – tell Sesko, still looking for his first United goal, to get stripped.
But the United boss instead opted to bring on Joshua Zirkzee to the surprise of the thousands packed into Old Trafford expecting to see the six-foot-six Slovenian limbering up.
It seemed like a snub to Sesko who – granted it’s still early days – has struggled to impose himself up front for the Red Devils since moving to England from RB Leipzig.
Amorim however revealed after his side’s victory that, far from a slight to the United No 30, he decided not to bring on Sesko for fears of him picking up an injury.
Ruben Amorim has revealed why Benjamin Sesko took the 10th penalty in the disaster at Grimsby Town
When Matheus Cunha went down injured against Burnley on Saturday, the United boss was left with a decision to make
To the surprise of the thousands in Old Trafford, Amorim opted to bring on Joshua Zirkzee for Cunha ahead of new recruit Sesko
Sesko indeed played a full 90 minutes on his United debut at Grimsby Town on Wednesday before surprising United fans when he stepped up to take the 10th penalty in the shootout, behind the likes of Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire.
The United boss nevertheless also clarified why the 22-year-old was so far down the pecking order, telling reporters: ‘He [Sesko] finished the game with cramps, really in the limit, that’s why we protected Ben from the penalties.
‘And today was that reason too. Josh [Zirkzee] is also an international striker but I was thinking that during pre-season Ben didn’t do 90 minutes, and he did that on Wednesday.
‘After the problem of Cunha [getting injured], you don’t know if the full game in the middle of the week has something to do with the injury today.
‘So I was not risking a player not knowing whether they would be able to play so many minutes. So everything was connected – the penalty, the game on Wednesday and the number of minutes I was thinking of using Ben for today.’
There was huge relief at Old Trafford when the final whistle blew on Saturday after a hard-fought victory against Scott Parker’s Burnley.
Amorim’s side started strongly – as they had to after the humiliation of midweek – and found the opener through an own-goal on 27 minutes.
The United boss has however revealed that he opted for Zirkzee for fears of Sesko picking up an injury
The Red Devils left it late to find a winner against Burnley at Old Trafford on Saturday
Burnley got themselves back in the game after the restart thanks to a Lyle Foster header but just 13 seconds after kick-off Bryan Mbuemo put United ahead once again with his first Premier League goal for the club.
As ever, the Red Devils didn’t make it easy for themselves as Jaidon Anthony bundled an effort past Altay Bayindir on 66 minutes to make it 2-2.
With tensions rising at Old Trafford, it wasn’t until the 97th minute when Bruno Fernandes slotted home a penalty to seal the victory for United after Amad Diallo was pulled down in the box.
Their first win of the season takes United up to the 9th in the table, but they’ve got hard fixtures to come.
After the international break, Amorim’s men travel to Manchester City for the derby before hosting Chelsea – and Alejandro Garnacho – at home.
