Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has explained his decision to leave Alejandro Garnacho out of the starting XI against Everton on Saturday, believing that the Argentina international could have a bigger impact from the bench.
Garnacho's omission was the only change from the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, with Manuel Ugarte replacing his fellow South American.
The attacker looked frustrated when he was pictured heading into Goodison Park ahead of kickoff, but Amorim said that "it's a good thing to be disappointed" when asked about the 20-year-old's pre-game mood.
Amorim insisted that Garnacho will be "ready for the next game" and suggested he would be brought back into the XI for Wednesday's Premier League clash with Ipswich Town at Old Trafford.
Garnacho was introduced when Man United were 2-0 behind against Everton, but the Red Devils struck late on through Bruno Fernandes and Ugarte to secure a share of the spoils at Goodison Park.
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Garnacho was benched for Saturday's showdown with Everton
"There are some games that are different and we want different things in the same position, so that's all. Garnacho will be ready for the next game and it's a good thing to be disappointed," Amorim told reporters.
"Like I've said, we have a lot of games and in modern football you don't have a starting XI. It's really hard, especially now. We have a squad that we have to rotate the players, so I imagine the game and then I imagine the characteristics of the players, to try to win the game. Today I thought the game in a different way to have Garnacho on the bench to change something."
Amorim also said that his side "just played one half", with the Portuguese claiming that the Red Devils "didn't exist in the first half".
"We just played one half and we managed to draw the game. We didn't exist in the first half. Everything we did during the week... I think the free man was there, I think the space was there, I think there were balls we cannot lose," he added.
"And then in the second half, and at half-time I think I said: 'No matter the result, we are going to do what we did during the week but with a little bit more energy.' I think you saw that it was not different in the positioning, it was different in the quality that we played the game."
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Amorim opens up on Man United's first-half struggles
Addressing the team's first-half struggles, Amorim said: "I see what the players saw, they know, and what people see. We lost a lot of balls without any pressure. We have free men, sometimes we don't respect the positioning and then we talk about anyone who watched a little bit of Everton in this spell know that they will be really good at second balls, and the two goals are from second balls.
"They are fighting and that's why you get disappointed. We didn't play first half but then it's a good thing... let's not just focus on the negatives... it's a good thing in the second half... we are playing the same positioning and it's more energy, more quality and that makes the difference.
"Of course, I felt in the second half the way we started the game we were different. We won second balls, we pushed the opponent. We don't let Beto control the ball alone. These small things I felt before. And then Bruno scored a free-kick and then we were the better team."
Man United will face Ipswich in the Premier League on Wednesday night before switching their attention to the FA Cup, welcoming Fulham in the fifth round of the competition on March 2.
Matt Law
