One was bullied by Haaland: Amorim must ruthlessly bench three Man United stars vs Chelsea

Manchester United have endured a horrible start to their 2025-26 campaign, with the position of manager Ruben Amorim already under threat.

A bruising 3-0 defeat to Manchester City has turned up the heat, leaving fans furious and patience wearing dangerously thin.

The road is not getting any easier for Amorim, with Chelsea arriving at Old Trafford this weekend in what feels like a must-win clash.

If Amorim is to survive, he must be ruthless.

Three underperforming starters from the City debacle need to be axed.

Amad Diallo

The 23-year-old was United’s best player last season after Bruno Fernandes.

His form has tailed off, leaving him a shadow of his former self.

Diallo has flopped in all four outings, whether deployed as a wing-back or a number 10.

It is time for Amorim to drop his key star and start Kobbie Mainoo.

The United academy graduate could slot in alongside Casemiro or Ugarte, with Fernandes restored to his natural attacking role.

Luke Shaw

Shaw endured a nightmare at the Etihad, being culpable for all three of City’s goals.

He was bamboozled by Doku for the opener, then bullied by Haaland for the second.

Shaw has been a fine distributor of the ball, but his form has nosedived since returning from injury late last season.

His confidence seems to be at rock bottom, as he keeps choosing sideways passes instead of playing forward like Lisandro Martinez.

Harry Maguire should replace him, with Leny Yoro shifting to the left side of the back three.

Matthijs de Ligt has been in good form, but he should move to the right centre-back spot to accommodate Maguire at the heart of the defence.

Altay Bayindir

Bayindir has impressed with his distribution, but he looks nervy between the sticks.

Amorim has backed him so far, but the deadline-day signing of Senne Lammens makes it clear his days as first-choice goalkeeper are numbered.

The Turkish international did not make any costly mistakes against City, but he should have come off his line a little quicker to close down the space for two of Haaland’s goals.

There is no point in keeping Lammens on the bench.

He is a promising young shot-stopper, and Amorim must throw him into the fire to see if he can handle the heat.

Article written by Sanidhya Bhardwaj .