Man Utd: Amorim hails ‘competitive and adult’ performance after Sunderland win eases pressure on Red Devils boss
United picked up an important win against the Black Cats
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim hailed his side’s “competitive and adult” performance after first-half goals earned United a 2-0 Premier League win over Sunderland to ease the pressure somewhat on the Red Devils boss.
Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko found the net in the opening 31 minutes at Old Trafford as the hosts recorded a third-straight home win to move up to eighth in the table.
Amorim’s future has been the subject of heightened speculation, with many outlets reporting in the build-up that the Portuguese head coach could be sacked should United fail to beat the Black Cats.
The victory will help soften some of the criticism levelled at Amorim of late, and the United boss was quick to praise his players, but insisted improvements can still be made.
Amorim told BBC Sport: “That is the kind of game where when we’re not playing well we’re defending well. We had our moments, we were focussed and competitive. Not the perfect performance. Senne [Lammens] did really well. We were a competitive and adult team today. We need to win these games with a clean sheet. Good for us.
“We need to understand that we need everyone to be ready to play. It’s a long season, we have a lot of problems, anything can happen. The important thing is that the teammates helped Lammens a lot to have a very good performance.”
Speaking about Sesko, who is starting to find his feet in England after scoring in successive games, his manager said: “He has time, he’s going to stay here for a lot of years.
“The media puts a lot of pressure on the goals for the striker but for me it’s the effort that is the most important thing. Every time we kick the ball he’s fighting for it, that’s massive for us. To win the second ball and give us time to breathe. I’m really happy with that.
“It’s frustrating to not have this kind of performance again. We need to do this kind of performance away as well – it’s our responsibility to play like this.”
United are next in action after the international break when they travel to bitter rivals Liverpool on 19 October.