Ruben Amorim has reiterated a strong statement ahead of Manchester United’s game against Fulham as he looks for one clear difference from his team.
Manchester United now turn their attention to their second Premier League outing of the season, a trip to Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
Ruben Amorim’s men fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Arsenal at Old Trafford in their opener, though the performance offered plenty of encouragement following a strong pre-season.
This time, however, United must translate positives into points, with a win seen as crucial to kickstarting their campaign.
Fulham, under Marco Silva, also come into the clash searching for their first victory after snatching a late equaliser against Brighton on the opening weekend.
Amorim reiterates strong United vs Fulham statement
One thing that undone all of United’s hard work against Arsenal was a set-piece, with William Saliba bullying Altay Bayındır from a corner kick.
After the game, Amorim explained that he wants to see his team use the dark arts when they are attacking set-pieces. Matthijs de Ligt tried to head the ball when he was marking Arsenal ‘keeper David Raya, but Amorim wants him to put off the shot-stopper instead.
That stance was reiterated when Amorim conducted his pre-Fulham press conference. The United boss did mention how United need to defend those situations better but made it clear that he wants his team to do the same thing in attack.
“No, we need to analyse the opponent and try to put the best set-up to protect the goal in set pieces and we do it all the time, the best we can. We are not going to change now because the last goal,” he said.
“What we need to improve is to do the same thing to the opponent, to try to take advantage of that.”
Amorim’s comments may be controversial
Amorim’s comments may come across as somewhat controversial, as he is essentially telling his players to push the limits of the rules; behaviour that, for whatever reason, is tolerated in the Premier League.
United have been far too passive in set-piece situations, and that approach has to change. Goalkeepers, too, need to play the game a bit smarter.
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Take Bayındır’s clash with Saliba as an example; had he gone to ground while being held and shoved, the referee or VAR would likely have awarded a foul or ruled the goal out.
Arsenal have become masters of these small but decisive tricks. Ben White, for instance, feigned injury when his side were under pressure at the back. United need to learn from that playbook.
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