Matthijs de Ligt has revealed two important messages Ruben Amorim delivered for the Manchester United squad at half-time in their win over Ipswich Town.
Manchester United secured a 3-2 victory over Ipswich Town at Old Trafford, despite playing with 10 men for over half the game.
Ruben Amorim’s side fell behind early after a defensive mix-up between André Onana and Patrick Dorgu gifted Ipswich the lead.
Bruno Fernandes then orchestrated United’s comeback with two pinpoint set-pieces—one deflecting off Sam Morsy for an own goal, and the other smashed in by Matthijs de Ligt.
Shortly after, Dorgu’s reckless challenge on Omari Hutchinson led VAR to intervene, and referee Darren England issued a red card, reducing United to 10 men.
Ipswich capitalised with an equaliser before half-time, but Harry Maguire’s towering header early in the second half secured the win for United.
De Ligt reveals Amorim message to United squad
United fans would not have been blamed for being pessimistic heading into the second half of the game on Wednesday night.
They were a man down and had conceded two extremely poor goals, which is becoming a running theme this season.
The way in which United played in the second-half was a pleasant surprise and something fans will be begging to see more of. The determination was much-improved and some good quality remained despite the difficulties.
De Ligt, who has had a mixed time at Old Trafford since his summer move from Bayern Munich, has detailed the messaging from Amorim at the interval to help guide the Reds to victory.
The goalscorer explained that Amorim told the team that the game was still there to be won and to “keep believing”. He also said that the head coach wanted his players to be brave.
“He said we were still in the game,” De Ligt told the Manchester Evening News when asked about Amorim’s half-time team talk.
“Obviously we conceded two goals, but I never had the feeling they had so many big chances or like they were getting close to our goal. I think the message was also to keep believing.
“Also, he [Amorim] said to be brave in the second half and I think you could see that immediately with the corner kick that we got, and we scored to make it 3-2, so that was the message.
“I think the most important thing was that even with 10 men, we kept pressing and I think that’s so important for defenders because if the team is pressing it’s so much easier for defenders. The second half you could see that and it makes the job easier for us.”
United’s first half issues continue despite ending goal drought
United’s issues in the first-half of games has persisted for so long now. They made positive steps by finally scoring a goal – two in fact – but were still very poor in moments.
The Reds had not scored in the first-half of a Premier League game since early December and despite ending that run, they still offered major concerns.
Despite some nice overall play, they found themselves entering the break having conceded two goals which were comical errors at best.
Read More: Manchester United star must learn from “exceptional” teammate after “pathetic” Ipswich moment
One of Amorim’s biggest challenges is finding a way to ensure his side start games well and that can allow them to set a tempo for the remainder of matches.
These frantic starts, with mistakes coming from all over the pitch, can only be excused if you are firing at the other end of the pitch. But without that, you have to make sure you are solid heading into a game and United haven’t had that.
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