Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim wants to see more from his team after their performance in the 2-2 draw with Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday, expressing satisfaction with his side’s intensity.
Just a week after Amorim admitted his under-par team could face relegation, Lisandro Martinez and Amad Diallo netted the first goals for the Red Devils at Anfield since 2018, in a game where United went pound-for-pound with the division’s best team.
“Today I’m allowed to be the only guy upset with the team,” Amorim spoke to the press after the game.
“But today we were a team.
“I want to see my team play so much better, but I think the most important thing to address today is the mentality. That is the key for everything. Today, we were a different team, not because of the system, not because of the technical aspect of the game, the tactical aspect of the game.
“We faced the competition in the way that we are supposed to face every day, training and match. It doesn’t matter the place… we need to face every day like that.”
The draw saw United climb a spot to 13th in the table, though they still 11 points behind sixth-placed Manchester City and 13 behind fourth-placed Chelsea, but it felt like a win for the delighted travelling and brave United support who turned up despite the snowy conditions.
Man United captain Bruno Fernandes who was one of their best players on the day, expressed his frustration after the contest.
“I’m pretty upset,” he said. “If we show this level at Liverpool, first in the league, why can’t we do this everywhere?”
Amorim had expressed optimism that with no midweek games, he would finally be able to have a full week of training since his arrival in mid-November.
“I don’t want to use that, but of course, when you train, you understand better the way we play, the positioning, the characteristics of the teammates, the things are really important. But I don’t want to use that today,” he said.
“Today is all about the focus when you are playing football, the focus on set pieces, the focus on passing the ball, not in the sloppy way, but in the way that we cannot lose one ball because in the other part of the pitch is [Mohamed] Salah, is [Luis] Diaz, so you don’t lose the ball.”
