The Thursday night slot was Ruben Amorim’s savior for Manchester United last season, but there was no consolation for it this week as they suffered a disastrous home defeat to relegation battlers West Ham United.
Despite taking the lead in the second half with Diogo Dalot’s goal, a tepid and uninspired game saw the hosts almost sleepwalking to a 1-1 scoreline, with the Red Devils almost refusing to let the game end.
Even with the returning Matheus Cunha back up front, it’s particularly worrying how neglected United are in terms of attacking options, especially Benjamin Sesco, the only senior star in the division currently out.
At the back, the absence of ever-present Matthijs de Ligt was frustrating, and Amorim rushed to readjust their defensive unit, and the surprise introduction of 19-year-old Aiden Haven seems to have backfired.
Aiden Haven’s numbers against West Ham
The teenage sensation, who joined from Arsenal in January, impressed during his handful of appearances last season, with club legend Wayne Rooney hinting that he “looked like he had been there for years” as he made a short but notable impact.
Haven, who was brutally injured against Leicester City just a few games into his move to United, has been underdog since then in 2025/26, with his only start prior to Thursday coming in the debacle against Grimsby.
As was the case on that rainy night at Blundell Park, the England youth international looked like a rabbit in his performance against the Hammers, particularly as he was given an early yellow for a reckless challenge on Jarrod Bowen.
According to Sofascore, the youngster, unsure of his new role as the center of the backline in the absence of De Ligt, Harry Maguire and the benched Lenny Yolo, was somewhat bullied by the experienced Callum Wilson and never won a duel.
In fact, the tall defender failed to make a single tackle or interception and was duly retired at the break after recording a poor passing accuracy of 67% on just 17 touches.
His age is such that the £1 million contract should certainly not be voided, indicating it is unlikely to be fatal to his United career.
If anything, more eyes should be on Amorim, and the Portuguese’s replacements should also be put under the microscope.
Manchester United’s substitute appears likely to feature on deadline
As Triple Crown winner Roy Keane suggested after the match, the hosts were looking to watch the game as if they were champions, batting the ball around with little belief that they would need a second goal to win the game.
Perhaps that approach stemmed from Amorim’s late substitution, with Joshua Zirkzee and the aforementioned Cunha both leaving to be replaced by midfielders Mason Mount and Manuel Ugarte.
The decision to leave out goalscorer Dalot raised some eyebrows, but the Portuguese defender in particular seemed to be settling into the unconventional left wing-back position.
The move is even more bizarre given the criticism Amorim leveled at his replacement Patrick Dawg ahead of the weekend’s trip to Selhurst Park, and highlights the “anxiety” that has characterized the Dane’s recent games.
These struggles were evident during the 21-year-old’s cameo, emblematic of the slump that United tend to endure when mid-match substitutions are made.
Dorg makes cameo appearance for West Ham | |
|---|---|
status | record |
minutes | twenty two |
touch | 28 |
Pass accuracy | 93% |
key pass | 1 |
successful cross | 1/3 |
dribbling success | 2/3 |
Total number of duels won | 3/5 |
tackle | 0 |
loss of ownership | 6 |
Statistics by Sofascore | |
In fact, Dorgu memorably squandered a promising second-half lead after losing the ball six times with just 28 touches during his 22 minutes on the pitch, producing a wayward cross that evaded everyone in red.
Similarly, groans could be heard from the Old Trafford crowd at one stage when the former Lecce star opted to take the ball out of play for a throw-in inside his own half rather than try to allow play to continue.
It may be a case of nitpicking, but nothing seems to be going right for the left-footer at the moment, with content creator Liam Canning rating him as “miles off the standard” needed to succeed at Man United, suggesting the attack-minded talent is “far from there”.
With the loss of Mbeumo, Amad and Nouseir Mazraoui at next week’s AFCON, Amorim is approaching a period where his squad will shrink further and he will have to rely more on Dorg and other peripheral figures.
Looking at Thursday and this year as a whole, United’s number 13 has shown little sign of being up to the challenge.
18 ball lost: Amorim must ruthlessly overestimate the bench 5/10 Manchester United Man
The Manchester United ace struggled in a 1-1 draw at home to West Ham.
