Rúben Amorim has opened up about the mentality change in his Manchester United side that he took over from last season.
Manchester United battled to a 2–2 draw against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, thanks to goals from Casemiro and Amad.
Bruno Fernandes provided a pinpoint corner for Casemiro to head home and give United the lead going into half-time.
Forest responded strongly after the break. Morgan Gibbs-White levelled the game through a thumping header, and 39 seconds later, Nicolò Savona punished United’s idle defending to put Sean Dyche’s side ahead.
However, Amad caused late drama as he struck a stunning first-time volley from distance to rescue a point for Rúben Amorim’s men and deny Forest a crucial victory.
Amorim praises the resilience of United
Last season, the Red Devils were repeatedly criticised for the lack of mentality shown in games when faced with challenges.
However, in recent times, this has slowly begun to change. During games against Liverpool and Brighton previously, there were phases in the game where United were on the back foot but remained in the game and eventually got the win.
Today, a different challenge was posed. Amorim’s men went from a winning position to all of a sudden being 2-1 down and being bombarded by Forest. United hung on at 2-1 and in the end were rewarded as Amad scored the equaliser.
Speaking to the media after the game, Amorim said, “I think last year we suffered a lot, and we wanted to win games and overcome these moments, but now we know how to do it, and they know that we just need to be inside the game until the final 10 minutes of the game, and that is part of football. In the past, we could have lost everything, in the positions, the way we play the game.
“Today, the feeling was not that one. So, I think we are improving in that aspect. Again, we did some things right, but also the good thing is we have the potential to play so much better, and that is the goal.”
John Bennett, BBC Final Score reporter at the game, also agreed with Amorim’s assessment.
“Credit to United though, in the past they may have staggered to another defeat but things seem to have changed in the last few weeks under Ruben Amorim and they responded well, Amad equalised with his brilliant volley, he and came so close to winning it late on too,” he said.
Tottenham Hotspur will be another tough test
United have now gone four games unbeaten, and despite only taking away a point, confidence will still be high due to the nature of the comeback.
Amorim’s side have slowly begun to show much-needed consistency that they have so dearly lacked for the last year. The fact that United put out an unchanged team for the first time under Amorim is more evidence of this.
However, Tottenham will be a different type of test with another edge to the game. Manchester United have not beaten the London side since 2022, including the recent Europa League Final loss.
Thomas Frank’s side are known for their tactical flexibility in games and their strength in set-pieces. Man United will need to show more resilience and be more switched on to avoid the same mistakes which led to the goals conceded today.
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