Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is used to giving out honest and damning reaction on his players by now.
Even though they drew 1-1 at Bournemouth thanks to Rasmus Hojlund’s 96th minute equalizer, it still wasn’t great from United as the hosts were reduced to 10 players for a large chunk of the second half.
But United kept plugging away and created plenty of chances late on as Hojlund eventually broke through.
Here’s what Ruben Amorim had to say after the trip to the sunny South Coast ahead of their huge Europa League semifinal first leg at Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
Ruben Amorim reaction
Speaking to Sky Sports, it was clear Amorim wasn’t delighted with the performance: “Was one point. I think we could do better. In these kind of situations we created chances but sometimes we need to do better near the box. One point… It is small things. We have to understand the foot that is in the play, the way we cross, the better one crossing, the better one driving the ball, the better one against one outside. We need to understand the game in that way. I think if we understand the position better we can create more chances. Today we pushed our opponent, especially after the sending off. We had the chances but again we didn’t score.”
On creating chances and understanding: “It’s about understanding teammates and then against 10 players we can push the opponent before we attack to control transitions. Sometimes we are putting the ball without any pressure, long balls, these small things make the difference because it stops the game. One throw in, one goal kick, stop the game. We need to be better.”
On Rasmus Hojlund scoring and his confidence: “It is always important for strikers to score goals. Again when we look at the game as a striker it is not just the goals. Of course that is really important and massive. It can change the game of course. It is a good boost but the next game is a new history and we have to go again.”
Bournemouth playing a similar style to Bilbao: “The way Bournemouth defend is quite similar so we can take things from this game. But again it is a new history and we must do better.”
