Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has urged his players to fight in an effort to change the narrative that they have the ability but not the character to play for the club.
Amorim spoke to reporters after United played out a pulsating 2-2 draw with bitter rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
United’s goals were grabbed by Lisandro Martinez and Amad Diallo while Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah found the back of the net for the Merseysiders.
Not many gave the Red Devils a chance of getting anything against the table leaders but they fought valiantly and could have even got the win, had Harry Maguire converted his chance right at the death.
After the final whistle, Amorim told BBC Match of the Day, “That should be a big issue for our players that even one person thinks you have the ability but not the character, we have to fight that and change that.”
“I think it is really clear. When we are focused, when we fight for every ball, when we suffer and we are tired when the game is finished, we are a good team.”
“If we don’t do that all the time then we are going to lose games. That is clear to everybody.”
He added, “We controlled very well the tempo of the game. Every time Liverpool had a chance, we controlled and had the ball for a moment. That makes a difference.”
“You could see in the game, it was not like we are not suffering all the time because we controlled the ball, sometimes winning some fouls, controlling the transitions. It was a good game.”
On United’s left side of Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes, Amorim stated, “They have the players with qualities and you have to do it how you should do it every game. Dalot is really fast, Bruno is really smart so we can use them.”
When asked about Maguire’s miss, Amorim replied, “For me, missing chances or playing badly with the ball is not the big issue. For me, the big issue is that Harry gave everything on the pitch. That is the most important thing.”
The Portuguese coach called for consistency from his side. “That is clear. Everybody thinks the same thing. We have to start someday to be consistent. Not in the way we play but in how we face the competition – so let’s start today.”
United return to action next Sunday when they face Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
