Ruben Amorim makes major 'pressure' claim ahead of Manchester United v Sunderland
Sunderland will visit 13-time Premier League champions Manchester United on Saturday afternoon.
Under-fire Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has revealed he has been impressed with Sunderland’s remarkable return to the Premier League as the two sides prepare to meet at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
The Black Cats will travel to the home of the 13-time Premier League champions sitting in the top five after bouncing back from their only league defeat of the season at Burnley by embarking on a four-game unbeaten run. Narrow wins and late equalisers have been something of a hallmark for Regis Le Bris’ side and that was shown last weekend as a goal from summer signing Omar Alderete gave them a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
Despite going into the new season with a largely new-look squad on the back of a hectic summer transfer window, former Lorient boss Le Bris has moulded a solid and cohesive side that already look at ease with life in the top flight and there is still a feeling there is more to come from the Black Cats.
By contrast, Saturday’s hosts find themselves under major pressure after winning just two of their six league games following last weekend’s 3-1 loss at the hands of Brentford. Red Devils boss Amorim discussed Sunderland’s form during the opening two months of the season and admitted his side will have to cope with the pressure placed upon them when they face the Black Cats.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the former Sporting CP boss said: “It’s going to be a really tough match, they are doing really well. You see the games, they draw with one less player in the final of the game (against Aston Villa), they draw, one point, and then they win with the final play against Brentford, three more points. The details are changing a lot in the table so we need to pay attention to that. It’s a team that plays really well, the system, the 4-3-3 with a lot of rotations on the side of the pitch.
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“They are confident and they know that we are going to be under pressure and we need to be able to play with that and we are prepared for a tough match. It’s not just the table and the results that matters the most, it’s the way they play. They have a clear identity and he’s a very good manager and a very good team.”
Tribute
Friday brought confirmation Saturday’s game will be preceded by a one-minute silence as the victims of a terror attack at a Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester are remembered and the Red Devils have also confirmed their players will wear black armbands. Amorim was asked about the tribute in his pre-match press conference and expressed his sympathy for those impacted by the events of Thursday morning.
He said: “It is a crazy world that we are living in at the moment, a lot of these things happening and of course our sympathy for the victims. We will pay tribute tomorrow. It is a crazy world in this moment.”
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