Alan Shearer was impressed by Chido Obi’s camero appearance off the bench during Manchester United’s penalty shootout defeat to Fulham in the FA Cup.
Neither team could be distinguished after 120 minutes at Old Trafford, leading to penalties after Bruno Fernandes equalized Calvin Bassey’s first-half goal.
It was Bernd Leno who emerged as the hero in the penalty shootout, saving attempts from Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee to eliminate the reigning champions in the fifth round.
Ruben Amorim’s squad had another disappointing outing; while they improved in the second half after a lackluster first, they failed to convert chances into a goal.
One of the few highlights was the impressive performance of Obi, who took over from Rasmus Hojlund in the 68th minute and offered significantly more attacking vigor than his Danish substitute.
Obi fashioned three shots compared the Hojlund’s one, with BBC commentator Shearer left impressed by his all-round display.
‘He’s been a real handful in there you know,’ said Shearer.
‘He’s certainly offered a lot more than Hojlund has when he was on the pitch. He’s been a nuisance and tough to play against.
‘I like what I see from Obi, I really do. He’s certainly given them a different option to play with.’
Amorim was also pleased with Obi’s display, stating to MUTV at the end of the match: “I believe Chido performed quite well today. Naturally, he was a bit inexperienced at times, but you could see that he desires the ball in the box—something that strikers possess, and he does too.”
United has a quick turnaround ahead of Thursday’s away match against Real Sociedad in the Europa League last-16 first leg, and Amorim suggested that Obi might take Hojlund’s place, who hasn’t scored in his last 17 matches for United. “Anything can happen in the upcoming games and during training,” Amorim mentioned to the media in his post-match conference.
“We don’t have much time to practice, but we need to assess the opponent and gauge the player’s physical condition at this moment, considering we will begin playing Thursday-Sunday. We’re facing issues with scoring. Today we generated opportunities, but at times it seems like our only real threat comes from set pieces.”