Ruben Amorim has issued a warning to Manchester United players who are not up to his standards, saying he is “cautious about everything” after Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were left out of the Manchester derby.
Manchester United’s starting line-up against Manchester City was rumored to have been leaked on Saturday night, well before any official announcement was made.
Doing the rounds on social media, the team appeared to be in place without Garnacho and Rashford in their starting XI.
Amorim will not be happy to learn that his starting line-up has been revealed a day before the match. However, there is no suggestion that Rashford or Garnacho were responsible for the leak.
Ruben Amorim said, ‘Pay attention to everything.’
“We try to evaluate everything: training performance, match performance, engagement with your teammates, lifting your teammates up,” Amorim told Sky Sports before the game.
“It all comes down to it when we try to analyze and select players. It’s my choice, it’s simple.
“I don’t want to send a message. It’s a simple assessment and they know it. The players are really, really smart. Everyone understands my decision and I have to make a choice. It’s a simple choice.
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Coach Pep Guardiola gave his pre-match thoughts ahead of the Manchester derby.
“Of course the situation is difficult because we have to win the games, but these are difficult times. When I go to a game, I pay attention to everything: the way I eat, the way I dress, everything. I evaluate it. Then I make a decision.
“I got a call after the last training session. They are OK. They had training this morning (Sunday) and I was there. They trained really well.”
Manchester City vs Manchester United starting line-up
Man City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Gvardiol, Gundogan, Silva, Doku, De Bruyne, Foden, Nunes, Haaland.
subscriber: Ortega, Stones, Kovacic, Grealish, Savio, Simpson-Push, O’Reilly, McAtee, Mubama.
Manchester United: Onana, De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez, Mazraoui, Ugarte, Fernández, Dalot, Diallo, Hoylund, Mount.
subscriber: Bindir, Lindelof, Zirkzy, Malasia, Eriksen, Yoro, Casemiro, Antoni, Mainu.
judgment: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
