Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has pointed out a major problem that he spotted as his side cruised to a 3-2 victory over Burnley on Saturday.
United secure first win of the season
Coming into the match, United had just suffered a crushing midweek loss to Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup second round.
Amorim has been under increasing pressure, therefore winning the match against Burnley was imperative.
The Red Devils took a well-earned lead in the first half thanks to an own goal from Josh Cullen, but Burnley’s Lyle Foster equalized ten minutes later.
Almost immediately after, Bryan Mbeumo responded for United by tapping in a cross from Diogo Dalot. However, United was unable to hold on, and Jaidon Anthony helped Burnley tie the score once more.
It appeared that the two sides would have to settle for a share of the points but Amad won a penalty for United in stoppage time. Bruno Fernandes stepped up to take the spot-kick and converted to hand United their first win of the 2025/26 campaign.
Amorim’s post-match remarks
Speaking to Premier League Productions after the final whistle, Amorim claimed United could have wrapped up the game by half-time but felt his players “overcomplicated” matters and turned it into a battle.
He said [as quoted by BBC], “It is three points, if you look at the game we should solve it in the first half and control the game.”
“But we are fighting to the last minute because of things we overcomplicate.”
“Look at the first half, we have so many chances to score. You feel you can control the game. But one throw in, one set piece. I shook my head, because sometimes football is like this.”
“We now have two weeks with a lot of opportunities. This was a game we had to win, but we have a lot to do.”
Asked why he couldn’t bring himself to watch Fernandes’ penalty, Amorim answered, “I like to see the image of the fans. What has to be has to be. In that moment, I was thinking, it would be fair to win the game.”
“And I did not think Bruno would miss a second in a row.”
On whether he was thinking about his future before the penalty, Amorim said, “No, I was just thinking Bruno was not going to miss.”
United are next in action on September 14, when they face Manchester City at the Etihad.
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