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Friday 14 March 2025 00:01
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has praised Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu for his honesty during our 4-1 Europa League success over Real Sociedad.
The Reds booked a place in the last eight of the competition thanks to a 5-2 aggregate win over the Basque outfit, with our winter-window signing in fine form.
Dorgu was an ever-present threat down the left flank and could have netted his first goal for the club, while also forcing the red card for Jon Aramburu.
After earlier earning a penalty, Dorgu was hauled down for a second time, by Hamari Traore to seemingly earn the Reds a third spot-kick, only for his honesty to get the better of him.
Amorim discussed the matter in his post-match press conference, among other things, and below you can read everything he had to say…
I want to ask about Patrick Dorgu and his performance, he seems to have good end product and also the fact he was telling the referee he didn’t think it was a penalty that he’d won, so as a manager, do you like to see that?
“It depends. It is the right thing to do. So I am quite proud of him, but it depends. I cannot say if it is 0-0 or we are losing, if I would have the same response! So he did well. He did a great performance and he was improving during the game. He is learning a lot in that position. He has that physicality and he is clearly able to be able to play in our league. So it was a good game and it was a good action from Dorgu.”
We speak a lot about Bruno Fernandes, people criticise him, as you’ve said before. Today, when you are losing, and you need someone to step up, he has done it again. Can you just explain what he brings to this team?
“It is not just the team, it is the club. We have already talked a lot already about Bruno [Fernandes] and we know that sometimes he is frustrated, we know that he wants to win so bad that sometimes when the things are not [good], or we are not playing well, he is changing position and goes after the ball after the goal. Sometimes he needs to trust a little bit more in his team-mates, to allow them to do their job and also to play better. When we need him, he is always there, with set-pieces, he can bring the ball forward, he can score goals, he can make transitions, like he showed today in the last 10 minutes of the game. He is a perfect captain for our team and we need to help him win titles because he deserve a lot.”
I felt like Joshua Zirkzee has his best game for United, I do not know if you agree, but in that number-10 role it maybe seems to unleash what he can do with the ball in and out of possession. What did you think to his performance?
“He did really well and, when we lost some of the control of the game, it was our fault. I think we did a very completed exhibition, he did quite well one against one in the back, we tried to play and we showed some moments and Josh [Zirkzee] showed that, he is more aggressive when he doesn’t have the ball and he is improving without the ball. But [that] can help Joshua a lot without the ball, he has the talent. In some plays, I think he can be more direct and he has a lot of class, touching the ball but sometimes he has to think more as a striker, no matter what. It doesn’t need to be the most beautiful goal with all the control, but he is improving.”
Congratulations Ruben. Was that the most complete or best performance from your side since you have come in, given the injuries and the outside noise with everything, so how impressed are you?
“I felt, during the week, that we showed we can play these kind of games and I think our exhibition against Arsenal was not beautiful, but it helped a lot and, in that second half, we needed to believe. I felt that the team, even before the match, was full of confidence. We suffered a goal but we continued to play the same thing and that can show, since the first minute, we believe that we can go to the next stage. This is also a different competition. I think that the physicality of our team made a great difference in these two games.”
Ruben, after the first game in Spain, what have been the improvements from your team, in a tactical point of view in relation to the other games?
“We have more time to think. We usually press a little bit higher and, today, we had more time to think. We suffer a lot in some games in the league with the physicality. We felt that we could let three against three in front because we feel that, with our physicality, we can recover positions and deal with the players one against one. Everything in this game helped us to play better, with the ball and without the ball.”
Casemiro got a huge ovation as he left the pitch. What’s been behind his improvement in the last few weeks?
“I think he is improving his game and I am improving the way I should use a player like Casemiro. I am not trying to put Casemiro pressing really high. Our team, you feel, is more connected in defending, that can help a lot because he is so smart and intelligent at reading the game, in short spaces he can understand where the ball is going. It is everything together and the team is better and can play better and understand the characteristics of the players and, combined, it can help us to win games.”
‘Dorgu was everywhere!’ Video
‘Dorgu was everywhere!’
Carl Anka, journalist from The Athletic, was hugely impressed by Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu…
Congratulations. How important tonight was it to not only win the game but also for your season to stay alive?
“The feeling with the fans, the noise, it is hard to explain. You feel it with confidence from the supporters, the players and it was a really good night. We have this competition, we have the Premier League that gives us a lot of energy and confidence to go to our games. We feel we can go to the next stage and we believe we can go to another stage. This week was a different week. We dealt with a lot of problems of the present and with the future, we have showed it is not finished because we have another game on Sunday [at Leicester City]. This game today was really good for everybody in the club, the staff, the players and, especially, the fans.”
You can finally enjoy a game!
“The feeling is completely different. Not just the result, but they way we play. It is the same job but it is completely different. The good thing and the bad thing after this game is that it is over and, tomorrow, we are going to think about how Sunday is going to be hard. The next game in the Premier League.”
Can I ask you about the three penalties. Would you be angry if your team had conceded that goal?
“I have not seen the image, the last one was Patrick [Dorgu]. You will have to ask Patrick if it is not a penalty. The thing is I never speak about it, and we had the opposite, but where there is no penalty, there is no penalty. That is it and I think VAR brings more fairness to the game. But I didn’t see clearly the image.”
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Friday 14 March 2025 00:01
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