“He can hide that, but I understood it”: Amorim gives surprise update on United goalscorer

Manchester United’s 4-2 triumph over Brighton and Hove Albion was significant for several reasons. It left the Red Devils, temporarily at least, in fourth place in the Premier League, and was also a rare win over one of United’s biggest bogey sides. But it also makes it three wins on the bounce for Ruben Amorim, a feat the Portuguese had never managed in a tumultuous year in charge. A matter of confidence Speaking to BBC’s Match of the Day after the game, Amorim admitted “it is a good feeling” to have secured three points in front of an Old Trafford crowd. “To listen to the crowd, the joy, it is important, he said. “We need to enjoy that today but then prepare for the next one.” The next one sees United travel to troubled Nottingham Forest, and Amorim’s side will be hoping to build on a run of good form which really kicked off in last week’s win over Liverpool. Discussing that triumph, Amorim said: “It is a very good boost, but again in our club, we have to maintain that with hard work, and when you are confident, you play better. “You have better moments and a little bit of luck when you have the right spirit, so everything is in our favour at the moment, but we have to keep working hard to maintain that.” Change in spirit The Red Devils looked to be cruising to an unusually comfortable win after Matheus Cunha made it 3-0, but allowed the Seagulls to pull it back to 3-2. There was a familiar feeling of dread inside Old Trafford, but this time United toughed it out and Bryan Mbeumo’s second of the game ensured a happy ending. Reflecting on the nervy last period, Amorim said: “It is hard [at 3-2], but we had some moments in the past when the spirit was a little bit different, and we suffered more. “But today we scored the last goal because I felt we could deal with bad moments in a better way than we showed last year. And when you have a better spirit, you have a bit of luck.” Cunha hitting his stride After an impressive performance at Anfield, the only thing Cunha was missing since joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers was a goal. The Brazilian finally made it onto the scoresheet today with a beautiful goal, and Amorim gave some insight into the player’s progress. He said: “He was struggling [previously]. He can hide that, but I understood that. It is not a surprise the way he responded at Anfield or played today with and without the ball, and that is going to be massive for us.” Cunha has been giving it both barrels since he moved to Old Trafford in the summer and has certainly not been visibly struggling on the pitch so Amorim’s comment may come as a surprise, but the promise of more to come is mouthwatering for fans. Amorim added: “He needs to score goals; he suffers when he doesn’t score, but he is a top player who decides games. “Everything can change really quickly, but if you have that feeling and still feel confident to work, we are going to be a better team.” Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.