Ruben Amorim delivers honest verdict on Man United win over Sunderland and what his team got right
Sunderland fell to a 2-0 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim praised his team for a mature performance against Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday, and said the return of Amad had been 'massive for his team'.
First-half goals for Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko made it a relatively comfortable afternoon for the hosts against Sunderland and though Amorim did not think his side had played particularly well in the second half, he was pleased with the defensive efforts on show and felt it represented a step in the right direction after a difficult start to the season.
"A clean sheet is very important," Amorim said.
"We didn't play well through all of the game but we had our moments, but the main thing was out performance as a team. We were focused, defended well, trying to kill the game in the second half. I'm pleased with that and now we need to move forward. [Goalkeeper Senne Lammens] did well, he looked confident but the team helped him to do this because everyone was focused, not many mistakes, against a team that is really comfortable playing football. So we did well."
Amorim was asked if he felt any frustration that his side would not be able to build on the win due to the international break, but said his key focus was ensuring his team can show this solidity away from home as well as at Old Trafford.
"The main frustration for me is not to see the same team at home and away," Amorim said.
"You saw today, we didn't play well in the second half but we were focused, we fought for the second balls. The small things are going to help you win games. Sometimes you have your moments and in the first half we had a lot of these, but then the second half if we cannot play well [we will make sure] they will not play well, that is what the big teams do throughout a season."
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What Man Utd boss said about Amad's performance against Sunderland
Amad had returned to the starting XI to face his former club after being granted a period of compassionate leave due to a family bereavement, and Amorim said he was very pleased with the 23-year-old's performance.
"Really pleased," Amorim said.
"He defended really well and in attack, we already know that he is really good. Every time he has the ball 1-v-1 he's giving us a lot of chances to score. He can also help Bryan [Mbuemo] to play more inside [rather than] worry more about the runs in behind the defence. We missed Amad a lot in the second half against Brentford especially at 2-1 down, to have an extra guy like Amad is massive. We are very pleased with him, he did a very good job."
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