Ruben Amorim Praises Manchester United’s Resilience After a 2-2 Draw Against Liverpool and Wants ‘Shock Therapy’ to Improve Consistency.
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim praised the his team after they fought back to hold Premier League leaders Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at Anfield. A late equaliser from Amad Diallo ended a three-game losing streak for United, but gave Amorim the post-match press conference as an opportunity to double down on his “shock therapy” methods in challenging complacency within the club.
United took an early lead through Lisandro Martínez but Liverpool responded through Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah. Diallo’s 80th-minute strike salvaged a crucial point for Amorim’s struggling side. United could have snatched all three points when Harry Maguire had a golden opportunity deep into stoppage time, but the defender fired over the crossbar.
Speaking in the aftermath of the match, Amorim underlined how he is trying to get into his squad’s heads, believing the atmosphere at the club has become “too comfortable.”
“I’m trying to push this team every day,” said Amorim. “Sometimes, maybe it is not the best way. I challenge the players because, I feel that we are-not just the players, but everybody in Manchester United-is too comfortable. Sometimes, we need a shock.”
Amorim was frustrated with the inconsistency of his team, despite being pleased with the improved performance against Liverpool.
“I’m angry today, really angry. I am pleased for the performance, but everybody’s going to tell us how well we did. Today, I’m allowed to be the only one upset because we have to be consistent. We had good games in the past and dropped again. Now it’s about keeping this mentality.”
It was that moment in the dying seconds when Joshua Zirkzee decided to pass the ball for a goal that Maguire, for once, couldn’t capitalize on. Amorim, though, defended the decision-making of Zirkzee.
“For me, it was the perfect decision,” Amorim explained. “He could shoot, but he put the ball in the center. The ball was slow for Harry to score, but Josh made a good decision in my opinion.”
United face a daunting schedule, with an FA Cup third-round clash against Arsenal on January 12 and then a Premier League match against bottom club Southampton on January 16. Having lost five of their last six league games, Amorim underlined consistency is the key to preventing another slippage after the encouragement of the result against Liverpool.
“The season is long,” he said. “We had good games last month, but we dropped again. It’s something we need to fix. We can talk, but we need to show it on the pitch. The best thing is that tomorrow we train, and we have to maintain the same mentality.”
Amorim’s candid comments underline his determination to rebuild Manchester United’s identity and instill the consistency needed to climb the table.
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