Manchester United notched back-to-back wins under Ruben Amorim as they thrashed Everton 4-0 in their Premier League game at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Portuguese will be delighted with both his forwards, Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee who grabbed a brace apiece and the Red Devils have now scored eight times in their last three games under the new head coach.
Sunday’s win meant the Old Trafford side have climbed up to ninth spot, only four points off the top-four, and have finally made it into the top-half of the league table.
With their forward line finally clicking into gear and with the team displaying intensity as demanded by Amorim, United seem to be building a head of steam ahead of Wednesday’s game against Arsenal.
United not getting carried away
But as the head coach said at the end of Sunday’s game, there was a lot of scope for improvement and the focus is always on the next game instead of getting carried away.
It did not look like a foregone conclusion in the first half, especially before the first goal, when the visitors wrestled back control but the home side ran away with it in the second half.
“On Thursday, we [won] 3-2, but I think we deserved more. Today was a 4-0 [win], but I think Everton deserved more. So let’s focus on the performance, congratulations to the lads, let’s rest, recover and think about Arsenal.”
Former United legend Gary Neville felt the former Sporting Lisbon boss will be pleased with his unbeaten start to life at the club but will also be aware of the reality that the team is still a long way off where they need to be.
“Obviously it was a good win. Coming back in midweek and winning, Ruben Amorim will be happy,” said the former United right-back on his Sky Sports podcast.
“They’re a long way off, no doubt about that, but they’ve gone up into the top half of the table. They’re only four or five points off the top four, which is mad really.
United still far off from where they should be
“But I don’t think they’re quite at that level yet to give anybody confidence that they can get there. The teams that are above them, particularly in the top six are well ahead of them in terms of performance levels.
“But he’ll be happy at the end of his first week of matches.”
The game against the Gunners will be Amorim’s first big test and will show exactly where the team stands in comparison to the early pace-setters.
It will be far from easy with both Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo suspended for the encounter while club captain Bruno Fernandes is an injury doubt after he was spotted icing his ankle after being subbed off on Sunday.
Feature image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
