Manchester United ignored the warnings with Sofyan Amrabat

Sofyan Amrabat was signed to help Manchester United replace Casemiro; instead, all he has done is replicate the same level of underperformance. Rather than a problem solved, it has become a problem doubled.

The Moroccan international deserved some sympathy for his first few outings, given that he was being deployed out of position in a makeshift left-back role. Even when he played in his preferred central role, there was also an element of mitigation that the actual match didn't suit his skillset.

Amrabat struggled in matches where there was an onus on his side to attack. He was often calm and collected in possession, but lacked the creativity required to break opponents down and move the ball quickly into areas of threat.

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Man City at home looked like the perfect test. A match where Amrabat could shine as the sole defensive midfielder while playing to his strengths of breaking up play and doing the dirty work for his side. Instead, he was the one hooked at half-time as Erik ten Hag looked for more creativity.

Amrabat's withdrawal was prompted by the yellow card he received earlier in the game, with Ten Hag clearly worried he would receive a second one when he took off their only defensive midfield option.

It was no surprise that when Scott McTominay replaced him at the base of the midfield, the game opened up even more in City's favour, though that also stems from the fact that Pep Guardiola's side had hardly gotten going themselves by half-time.

Fundamentally, it tells us that Ten Hag wanted more from his side, and he viewed Amrabat as a disposable