Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has explained his decision to start Diogo Dalot and Mason Mount against Crystal Palace this afternoon. The duo replaced Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui.

Amorim acknowledged concerns over Dorgu’s composure in possession during recent fixtures. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Amorim said: “He needs to be calmer playing the game. You can feel the anxiety every time Patrick touched the ball – I can feel it, the anxiety.

“And I remember the shot [missed] against Everton. That was easier than the decision that he had to make when the guys from Scotland were there, when he made a great decision.

“And I saw it when he played in Italy. But, again, here is different and sometimes the pressure is hard for them in the beginning, but he has time to improve.”

Speaking to TNT Sports on Sunday, Amorim insisted his selection was driven only by training ground performances at Carrington. He said: “It’s the way you train.

“They trained really well, the others too. Then the tactical aspect. Mason Mount is really smart, gives us more possession. He is intense, he can score goals so is one more player to be near the box.”

The selection decision follows Dorgu seemingly mocking the United boss on social media. Earlier this month, the defender ‘liked’ an Instagram post that challenged Amorim’s team selections.

Victory this afternoon would see United climb into the top six on a temporary basis. Speaking about that prospect, Amorim said: “It’s so important to win, but the most important thing is to be competitive in every single minute. The table now doesn’t matter, we are too far from the end.”

The Red Devils go into this afternoon’s encounter sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League table. Last weekend’s defeat to Everton proved especially disappointing, with the Merseyside outfit reduced to ten men for the majority of the contest.

United will be forced to cope without three key players this afternoon, with Benjamin Sesko remaining unavailable after picking up a knock in the draw at Tottenham. Harry Maguire, who was also withdrawn during the Spurs fixture, will miss out too. Matheus Cunha, who suffered an injury in training ahead of the Everton match, is expected to be fit for Thursday’s meeting with West Ham, Amorim has confirmed.