Amorim wants United to maintain performance levels
Ruben Amorim has urged his Manchester United players to maintain their performance levels from the match against Arsenal for the rest of the season.
Despite losing 1-0 to the Gunners in their opening Premier League match, the Red Devils looked in good shape, taking 22 shots to their opponents’ nine.
Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu were the standout performers at Old Trafford, the former duo forcing brilliant saves from David Raya while the latter struck the post in the first half.
Next up for Amorim’s side is a trip to Fulham, and the head coach is not expecting an easy game at Craven Cottage.
“It’s always hard to play against Fulham. They have a clear identity,” he said.
“Marco Silva is really experienced and really smart. He can change several things, cover several spaces and you can see, game-by-game, that he tries to do that.
“They are really comfortable because they have the experience, they understand the league is long, so they will feel confident and relaxed for the game so it’s going to be a tough match.
“Every game has its history. The space and the opponent are not going to be the same, even the responsibility on the game could be a little bit different and that has a lot of influence on the game.
“So, we need to be consistent in our performance and consistency is not just playing in the same way, it’s maintaining the level and not dropping too much, and I feel that pre-season is pre-season, but even in pre-season and against Arsenal, our consistency was good.”
Marco Silva’s Fulham, meanwhile, rescued a late point in its opener against Brighton and Hove Albion, with Rodrigo Muniz scoring a 97th-minute goal to level the match at 1-1.
However, the Cottagers have been one of the quietest clubs in the transfer market with back-up goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte the only arrival thus far, leaving Silva frustrated.
"We as a club cannot be pleased at all. The Premier League demands much more from you," Silva said.
"We had a plan, and the plan did not go through."
Asked if he was happy with Fulham's squad depth, he added: "Of course not. We have three wingers, one [Alex Iwobi] is going to be out for seven to eight games [when the Africa Cup of Nations starts in December].
"It is just an example of how short we are in certain numbers. Many places, in terms of numbers, we are short. AFCON will have an impact on our decisions."
