Manchester United players are sending Ruben Amorim warning he cannot ignore

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For the second weekend in a row Man United left it late to rescue a point.

None of the Manchester United players seemed to take much pleasure in the result at Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

So often a last-minute equaliser feels like a winner, but not on this occasion. United should have seen out the game against a side that looked bereft of confidence.

Instead, the pressure was allowed to build and Spurs made them pay. There was good fortune involved in Mathys Tel's goal but Richarlison's header was a bitter pill to swallow.

Matthijs de Ligt's equaliser was rightfully celebrated, and perhaps last season it may not have come. But the Dutchman's admission after the game is something which Ruben Amorim cannot choose to ignore.

"We were really compact, aggressive and made it difficult for them [in the first half]," De Ligt told MUTV. "And then in the second half, it felt like we were lacking a little bit of energy.

"That's something we have to look at because in the Premier League, you get punished for that. But we still kept it 0-0, and the last 15 minutes it felt like we were really tired and they kept on coming and coming.

"At some point, you know if they keep coming into the box, then it will be dangerous. That happened, but fair play to the team for coming back and drawing 2-2."

Speaking after the game, Patrick Dorgu agreed with De Ligt's assessment.

This season United are, of course, not in Europe and they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle, so they should be fitter and fresher than ever. Yet still the team are struggling to see out games. That will be of huge concern to Amorim.

Perhaps a little bit of fatigue has started to creep in due to the success Amorim has enjoyed with a more settled side in recent matches.

The constant chopping and changing last season was a result of underwhelming performances and the new manager not knowing what his best team was. While it was largely condemned as a sign of how bad United were, it also had the benefit of allowing the squad to be used more evenly across the course of the campaign.

In Amorim's first 12 games across all competitions for United, he started 23 different players. This season's opening 12 have seen just 21 different starters.

However, it must be taken into account that United made wholesale changes against Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup, which skews the figures slightly. In recent weeks, Amorim has kept the bulk of outfield players the same at the start of each match.

De Ligt, Senne Lammens, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Amad, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are all guaranteed starters when fit and that is ultimately the core of the squad. While it is good to have that solid core, Amorim must know that rotation is the key to ensure that strength does not become a weakness.

United's players are playing fewer games but the same faces are being picked for consistency. This is where the lack of squad depth becomes an issue.

Amorim will have seen that United often become weaker this season when changes are made. At the beginning of the campaign, he spoke about being happy to work with a smaller squad due to the lack of European football but those words may be coming back to haunt him.

After the international break, Amorim needs to heed the warning from De Ligt. If he doesn't, it will start costing United more points.