Amorim: We played well until penalty

Thursday 06 March 2025 21:35

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim says the decision to award Real Sociedad a penalty was a turning point in his side’s first-leg performance on Thursday evening.

The Reds had been on top for much of the Europa League last-16 tie’s opening 70 minutes, going ahead in the second half through Joshua Zirkzee, before being pegged back when Mikel Oyarzabal levelled things back up from the spot.

La Real were awarded the opportunity to equalise from 12 yards after referee Ivan Kruzliak attended the VAR monitor to see Bruno Fernandes handle the ball inside the box, an incident that Amorim believes came at a time when United’s exhausting recent encounters were beginning to take their toll.

His side never properly recovered control of the contest and was perhaps fortunate not to go behind on aggregate after a late onslaught from the home team.

But 1-1 it finished ahead of next week’s decisive second leg at Old Trafford, a game Ruben underlined the importance of as he conducted his post-match media duties in San Sebastian. You can read a round-up of the key quotes from the boss below…

WE PLAYED WELL UNTIL THE PENALTY

“I think we played well until the penalty. But then the penalty, I think, changed a little bit the momentum of the game. I felt the team were a little bit tired in the last 20 minutes and that also helped them take control of the game in the final 20 minutes. Until the penalty, we were in control, had the opportunities. After our goal, we were really good because we were near the second goal.”

ZIRKZEE DESERVES GOAL

“It is deserved because he’s working really well. He’s improving in a lot of things in his game. He deserves this moment, and he was really important for us today.”

WHY GARNACHO PLAYED ON RIGHT SIDE

“We look at the opponent, the way they try to press, where is the space? Which player is going to follow the run? And we try to imagine the right characteristics for that game. So we try to change different things to expose the opponent.”

NEED TO BE MORE CLINICAL

“That is clear. We are creating chances. Sometimes you don’t see it in the xG because we manage not to shoot, but the great opportunity is there and you can see it. We have transitions, we have situations, and sometimes we are missing something. And that can change, especially in this kind of game, that you need goals that can make a difference for everybody.”

Ruben’s post-match press conference Video

Ruben’s post-match press conference

Press conference | Amorim discusses Zirkzee, Hojlund and Garnacho after our draw at Real Sociedad…

WE TAKE TIE TO OLD TRAFFORD

“We take the game to Old Trafford, our home. We need to survive physically on Sunday to be ready for Thursday. We need to be pragmatic, we need to win one game in Old Trafford. We have to think that way. You can get a little bit frustrated because, like I said, we had control of the game, but you can think also about the opportunities they had at the end of the game. The tie could be different, so we take the game to Old Trafford and we’ll be ready.”

PRIORITY BETWEEN NOW AND SUNDAY

“We have to recover, be really smart during the game against Arsenal. We have to check the players, they have to sleep. It’s an important moment in our season.”