Ruben Amorim explains decision to bench Altay Bayindir and hand new signing Senne Lammens his Man Utd debut against Sunderland

Lammens handed United debut

Lammens, who moved to Old Trafford from Royal Antwerp on deadline day, was finally handed his maiden start for United as Amorim picked the Belgian goalkeeper over Bayindir against Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday.

Amorim explains decision to bench Bayindir

Speaking to BBC Sport ahead of the Premier League game at Old Trafford, Amorim said: "It's rotation. Everybody has to be ready to play. We need to win this game, every opponent is different, so we try to find the best characteristics to win every match."

Bayindir's poor record at Manchester United

Bayindir was picked as United's first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Andre Onana at the start of the 2025-26 campaign after the Cameroonian goalkeeper had a fallout with Amorim and was eventually sent out on loan to Turkey. With Bayindir between the sticks, United conceded a whopping 11 goals in their first six matches and won just two.

Cunha starts on the bench

After featuring in Amorim's lineup against Brentford last week, Cunha was surprisingly left on the bench as Mason Mount started ahead of the Brazil international. Mount featured alongside Bryan Mbeumo just behind lone striker Benjamin Sesko in the Portuguese coach's 3-4-2-1 formation.