Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim was happy with his side’s 2-1 win over Liverpool on Sunday, Afrosport reports.
Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire, either side of a Cody Gakpo finish, ensured United left Anfield with all available points.
The result ended their winless streak away at Liverpool, dating back to January 2016 under Louis van Gaal. United also recorded back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since Amorim arrived last November.
“It doesn’t mean a lot. It means it today. But tomorrow, it is not going to mean a lot. It’s three points, but it’s a good victory,” said Amorim while speaking to Sky Sports after the game.
“I will do the same thing I did in the last few games, which is try to see the game. In key points, we had some luck, but we fought for every ball; we lost our composure in the second half.
“But the most important thing was the spirit was there. That is the beginning of everything. Sometimes, you play more with the ball, other days you play without the ball. But if you have the spirit, you can win any game.
“Of course, we need moments: to score first, saves from our goalkeeper, one shot on the post – to start believing that we can win any game. But you can feel it, any transition, some moments with the ball, they started believing it was possible.
The Portuguese coach added that though the victory was much-needed, his attention is now on the next game against Brighton & Hove Albion.
“Now I’m concerned about Brighton,” he said. “Yeah, because I have one year of experience, I will enjoy it. I’m not dumb; I have to. But let’s focus on Brighton.
Amorim started the game at Anfield with Harry Maguire and Matheus Cunha in place of Leny Yoro and Benjamin Sesko. His selection drew a few criticisms before the game started, but the 40-year-old was vindicated after the victory, particularly with Maguire scoring the winner.
“I was expecting that. It’s nothing new,” he said on defying critics. “We just saw the game. I knew how important set pieces are and how important the guys with more experience are. Imagine if something happened at the beginning of the game against us? Harry Maguire has experience to help the other guys.
“[Ibrahima] Konate and [Virgil] van Dijk, they like confrontation. One of them goes to the ball; the other creates a second line. More or less, all the transitions were Cunha. He was so far from the centre-backs, and that helped us to take the ball.”
United played in a low block for much of the game and were limited to just 36 per cent possession and one shot on target in the second half.
When asked about how his tactical setup frustrated Liverpool, the former Sporting boss explained: “Every time you play in this environment, if you [low] block well, especially in the beginning, you can feel the fans turning.
“We feel that in our stadium. All the big teams suffer from that. We tried to do that. I think we have to have more possession to help our players. They struggled in the end. But a good win, let’s focus on the next one.”
“It will give us more confidence in the week. It will give us a lot of pleasure to our fans who deserve it after Grimsby and Brentford. To have a win like this is really important. That is on our hands. This game is the past. Let’s focus on the future.”
United climbed into ninth in the standings with 13 points after eight games and the result took some pressure off Amorim and his players. They host Brighton at Old Trafford next Saturday and will be hoping to carry this momentum into the game.
