Ruben Amorim has issued a clear instruction to his Manchester United players ahead of their trip to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Manchester United have a chance to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season when they take on Manchester City.
The two teams go into the 197th Manchester derby in need of a result, albeit for different reasons. Ruben Amorim has an objective to get United back into the Champions League, whereas Pep Guardiola’s side is usually tipped as Premier League title contenders.
City have won five of their last eight Premier League matches against United, though they failed to collect three points after their two attempts last term.
The Red Devils produced a remarkable late turnaround to win 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium last season. Amad Diallo made the difference as he won a penalty that was converted by Bruno Fernandes, before the Ivory Coast international scored the winner in the 90th minute.
Amorim will be hoping for a similar result at the Etihad on Sunday.
Ruben Amorim arriving at Old Trafford
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Ruben Amorim makes clear tactical demand for Manchester derby
The United head coach has warned his players that they ‘need to have the ball’, if they are to take three points from City on Sunday.
Amorim believes that United must learn to approach big games against teams like City with the same mindset as any other outing, using Grimsby Town as an example, despite losing to the League Two outfit in the Carabao Cup.
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Previous United managers opted to play a more defensive game against Guardiola’s City, but Amorim wants to go toe-to-toe with his opponents rather than playing on the break or in transition.
“First of all, our goal is to have that feeling that when we play against City, we have the same feeling as when we play Grimsby,” Amorim told ManUtd.com.
“That is our goal, to play every game from our team with the same mindset. So it’s just one more game, really important, but it should be a game against City every week.
“I think City has that way of playing with a lot of possession. They change, a lot, the way they build up and that is a problem to press. But we focus a lot on our team.
“We have a way of defending that we can adapt to different systems. And we need to have the ball also, that is really important, because we play with the ball and we show that in the last games, so we cannot face City thinking about just in transitions or trying to steal the ball. No, we can have the ball, and we will try to do it.”
What did Amorim do during the international break?
Amorim was also asked how he spent the September international break.
Many United players were involved in games for their countries, including new signings Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo.
Amorim revealed that he spent the break watching over United’s previous games, including those against City, to try imagine some positions for his players.
He said: “Really good. I watched the games again. I tried to watch the last games against City. I tried to imagine some positions for the players. Especially when you have some injuries, you have to prepare the future, to be comfortable in many situations. So it was a normal break, enjoying the weekend with the kids, bringing the kids to the school. But always thinking about the next match.”