Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim shared his thoughts with TNT Sports and BBC Sport on the hard-fought home victory against Southampton (3:1) – the Mancunian team managed to win against the clear Premier League outsider only in the final minutes, thanks to the first hat-trick of 22-year-old striker Amad Diallo’s career:
– It wasn’t our best performance, but it ended well. After the matches against Liverpool and Arsenal, I felt that the team was tired. Especially in the first half, where we were constantly behind and had problems between the lines – Southampton did well in creating space for the speedy Kamaldeen Sulemana, who we simply couldn’t catch. The opposition had a few chances before the break, but in the second half we improved our game and Southampton ran out of steam after their personal pressing all over the pitch. But I wasn’t surprised by the opponent’s performance – their coach worked a lot, his style is well known in Italy, so we were prepared. In the first half Southampton defended very well, but after the break when they lost a bit of physical strength we started to find space to exploit. Therefore, we finally took control of the game, started creating dangerous chances and deserved the victory, even though we didn’t play particularly well. Right now, winning is the most important thing, not the fact that we are very tired. Yes, it was difficult, but we still have a lot to do; we must continue in the same spirit.
– Amad Diallo played in a different position, but he still did a great job, exploiting his abilities in the second half. His last goal was similar to the one scored against Everton, but Diallo still has room for improvement. All players on this team share equal responsibility; Amad doesn’t need to try to take the spotlight, he just needs to prepare for the next match, and if he trains well, everything will fall into place. Diallo is having a very good season and is in great form – he must continue to work hard and play the same way. It is crucial that Amad, through his movement, pushes the team into the final third, and when he receives the ball, he immediately puts pressure on the opponent. We had some patterns when playing with the ball, but we also ran into some problems – especially when we started to falter on minor details, and the team became anxious. Additionally, not all of our players match the qualities needed for the current gaming system. I wouldn’t say we had commitment problems – the guys took to the pitch with enthusiasm, but when Yoro couldn’t catch the opponent in the transition phase, and Ugarte, Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes were in delay in the action, we simply lost control of the game.
