Amorim lathers fantastic United duo with praise after comfortable 2-0 win over Sunderland

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim highlighted two players for special praise after his side’s 2-0 victory against Sunderland.

United ease past Sunderland

United secured a much-needed victory against the Black Cats to ease pressure on Ruben Amorim, who now looks set to avoid the sack over the international break.

Heading into the game, the spotlight was on Amorim amidst United’s extremely poor start to the 2025/26 season.

Amorim was handed a fairytale start to the game as Mason Mount opened the scoring after just eight minutes. The midfield latched onto a ball from Bryan Mbeumo, expertly brought it under his spell before firing well past Robin Roefs.

Benjamin Sesko made it two for United, showing sharp awareness to slot the ball home from inside a packed penalty area.

The Red Devils had other chances to score but as it turned out, their two first-half goals were all they needed to secure the three points.

After the final whistle, Amorim spoke to BBC Sport and hailed his side’s mature performance. In particular, the Portuguese coach hailed Sesko and debutant Senne Lammens for their contributions.

Amorim singles out United duo

Amorim told BBC Sport, “That is the kind of game where when we’re not playing well we’re defending well.”

“We had our moments, we were focussed and competitive. Not the perfect performance. Senne [Lammens] did really well. We were a competitive and adult team today.”

“We need to win these games with a clean sheet. Good for us.”

He added, “We need to understand that we need everyone to be ready to play. It’s a long season, we have a lot of problems, anything can happen.”

“The important thing is that the teammates helped Lammens a lot to have a very good performance.”

Amorims said about Sesko, “He has time, he’s going to stay here for a lot of years. The media puts a lot of pressure on the goals for the striker but for me it’s the effort that is the most important thing.”

“Every time we kick the ball he’s fighting for it, that’s massive for us. To win the second ball and give us time to breathe. I’m really happy with that.”

“It’s frustrating to not have this kind of performance again. We need to do this kind of performance away as well – it’s our responsibility to play like this.”

United return to action after the international break on October 19, when they travel to Anfield to face bitter rivals Liverpool.

Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images

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