Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has explained the reason behind why his team often appear to play well in the first half of games, only to collapse in the second period.
Amorim offers explanation
United are currently in fine form, with the team enjoying a five-game unbeaten streak that stretches as far back as the start of last month when they beat Sunderland 2-0 at Old Trafford.
After a patchy start to the season, United finally appar to be gaining some much-needed momentum.
However, one issue that still lingers is the Red Devils’ inability to see out games comfortably. On multiple occasions, United have started games well only to collapse and give opponents an avenue back into it. This was evident in the most recent outing, a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
While United have netted the joint-most first-half goals so far in the Premier League this season (11), they have also conceded the most second-half goals (14) of any team in the division.
Amorim sat down with Premier League Productions and gave his assessment on this concerning trend.
He said [as quoted by the United website], “I think we lose the intensity. I think we had some problems in some games, that we lost, I think two times, Casemiro, because of some pain. Harry Maguire, the same thing. They are key players, not just in the way they play, the experience they have, [but also] the set-pieces, and people don’t take that into consideration.”
“I think we lose some [impetus] when we are in advantage, we lose that thing of continuing to press the same way.”
“It’s a lot of things together. I think we think about ‘let’s not suffer a goal’. And our mindset, it should be like ‘we have one goal, we just need another opportunity to kill the game’. So, I think it’s mental, but I think it’s also physical, so we need to improve in that aspect.”
Amorim reflects on his United journey
Monday’s home clash with Everton will mark Amorim’s one-year anniversary as United head coach. The former Portugal international has endured a tough time at the club and he is confident he is a much better manager from the lessons learned.
He remarked, “I think I changed as a coach. I see things a little bit different. I had an idea how to play, how to build up in certain ways, and I changed that.”
Amorim continued, “Here, and you see this in the Premier League, we are really focused on data. So, you need to change the way you do things. You need to pay attention. Of course, you want to play in a specific way, but you need to adapt, you need to understand where you [need to] play more possession, the way we win some corners to push the opponents, all these things.”
“I felt like, last year, I was always overwhelmed with the games. I didn’t have the time to settle down, to understand that my job is not just the pitch, it’s outside the pitch, [it] is to push for everyone. I felt like, last year, I was really emotional all the time, because I was struggling with the results.”
“I’m always saying that this is going to take time, but I’m the guy that has the bigger responsibility to take care of everything and to control the emotions a little bit better.”
Looking ahead to the Everton fixture, Amorim noted that the Toffees are a stronger outfit than they were 12 months ago.
He mentioned that they have players like Jack Grealish, Iliman Ndiaye, former Red James Garner and Jake O’Brien who can make a difference.
Featured image Matt McNulty via Getty Images
The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
1 comment
I think he is talking nonsense, his choices and his substitutions are the cause. Who but a third rate manager would substitute either Casemiro, Fernandez or Maguire for Ugarte when Mainoo is on the bench?