Ruben Amorim on Thursday said that Manchester United’s progress to the UEFA Europa League last 16 with a 2-0 win over Romanian side FCSB would be crucial to his bid to revitalize his troubled team.
Amorim’s men recovered from a patchy first half in Bucharest to secure the top-eight finish that guaranteed automatic qualification for the last 16.
Diogo Dalot broke the deadlock on the hour with a close-range finish from Kobbie Mainoo’s cross and the provider turned scorer eight minutes later as the England midfielder tucked away Alejandro Garnacho’s pass.
Photo: AP
After beating Rangers and Fulham in their previous two games, United recorded three consecutive wins in all competitions for the first time this season.
United came third in the league phase of the Europa League after going unbeaten in their eight matches.
Avoiding the playoffs — for the teams who finished ninth to 24th — is a major boost for Amorim, who would use the free time to drill his tactics and philosophy on the training ground.
“That is really important for us to have time to train and have the connection between everybody, even the staff,” he said. “In training we go to the pitch and get to know each other in the right environment. You can work on your ideas and then have time to focus on the opponent. That is the biggest thing. More than the win is to have time to train and have time to recover the players.”
Having bemoaned the lack of training opportunities because of United’s hectic schedule since his arrival from Sporting in November last year, Amorim is relishing the chance to get down to work.
He highlighted his decision to give Mainoo a more attacking midfield role, instead of his usual holding position, as evidence that he can improve United’s players once he gets time to understand their strengths.
Mainoo is the first player to score and assist on his first European start for United since Wayne Rooney in 2004.
“I put Kobbie Mainoo in that position. We need time to understand the players as he was struggling a lot defending as a midfielder,” Amorim said. “As a 10 he was so free playing the ball near the box. He had more freedom with not much responsibility running back all the time. We need time to work with the players to understand what the best position is for them.”
United have endured a turbulent season, with Erik ten Hag’s sacking followed by a woeful run at the start of Amorim’s reign.
The Portuguese coach labeled his group “maybe the worst team” in United’s glittering history after a 3-1 home defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion on Jan. 19, but his scathing assessment has sparked a response from United, with their three-game winning streak offering much-needed hope of a brighter future for a team still languishing in 12th place in the English Premier League.
A deep run in the Europa League would be a boost to Amorim as he bids to convince United’s players and fans that he is the man to end their long spell as underachievers in the Premier League and Europe.
“We controlled the game, but we have to score more goals because we had the opportunities. The opponent is not, with all due respect, the same level as the Premier League,” Amorim said. “We want to improve a lot with the way we play.”
United are to face Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, AZ or Midtjylland in the last 16 next month, and Amorim believes they are capable of lifting the trophy in Bilbao, Spain, in May.
“You have the responsibility, you are in Manchester United, so you must fight for winning trophies,” he said. “When you get to this stage of any competition, anything is possible, and they can prove that in a good day, they can win against anybody.”
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