Manchester United secured a vital win that eased the pressure on embattled boss Ruben Amorim as his side saw out a comfortable 2-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford.
Lammens enjoyed a solid debut
Lammens enjoyed a solid debut
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Ruben Amorim's Manchester United players delivered for their boss to spare him another uneasy inquest and potentially the sack.
Amorim admitted ahead of the game that it would be impossible for him to carry on if results did not improve – with this game billed as make-or-break for the embattled United boss.
But first-half goals from Mason Mount and £74million summer signing Benjamin Sesko set United on their way to a comfortable win that moved them up to eighth in the Premier League table.
Amorim will hope he can now head into the international break without worrying about getting a call from chief executive Omar Berrada thanking him for his time in charge.
Amorim needed this victory to ease the growing pressure on him, amid suggestions of players losing faith in his methods and United's hierarchy starting to harbour doubts about him.
United remain a work in progress and have yet to win back-to-back league games under Amorim, but this win – albeit against a meek Sunderland side – has brought the head coach more time.
Amorim made five changes from the side that lost 3-1 at Brentford a week earlier, handing goalkeeper Senne Lammens his United debut, with Altay Bayindir demoted to the bench.
The United boss had already declared the pair would fight it out for the No.1 spot and the way Lammens performed suggests it will be hard for Bayindir to win back his place.
Lammens commanded his area, earned a huge first-half cheer when he came for the ball and confidently collected it, and produced two fine saves in either half to cap a fine first game. Bayindir has failed to convince in the early parts of the season and it was refreshing to see a sense of stability brought to the backline.
Sunderland arrived at Old Trafford on the back of their best start to a top-flight season for 70 years, having amassed 11 points to start the game in sixth position in the table.
Against that backdrop, Amorim and his players expected Regis Le Bris's side to provide a stern test, but it was anything but that as their newly-promoted opponents failed to show up.
United made the perfect start, taking the lead after eight minutes, Bryan Mbeumo picking out Mason Mount, who took the ball down with his left foot before producing a clinical finish with his right to score from just inside the 18-yard box.
United goalkeeper Lammens had an assured debut in the win over Sunderland
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Amad came close to making it 2-0 in the 20th minute, cutting inside from the left and into the penalty area, then unleashing a goal-bound left-footed strike which Sunderland 'keeper Robin Roefs did well to turn away.
Roefs had to be alert again a couple of minutes later to repel a shot from Mbeumo, as United stepped up a gear in search of a second goal to give them some more breathing space.
United skipper Bruno Fernandes saw a delightful chipped effort tipped onto the bar by Roefs, as the hosts laid siege to the goalmouth at the Stretford End.
But the second goal duly came in the 31st minute, Benjamin Sesko reacting quickest to turn the loose ball into the net after a long throw-in from Diogo Dalot was flicked on by Sunderland's Nordi Mukiele.
It was Sesko's second goal for United, having scored in the defeat at Brentford last weekend, and no more than Amorim's side deserved.
The visitors did not provide much in the way of an attacking threat, but when they did, Lammens was there to deny them, getting down early to his left to keep out a low shot from Black Cats skipper Granit Xhaka.
Amorim eased the pressure on him with the win at Old Trafford that moved United up to eighth
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United survived a penalty scare in first-half added time when referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot following a high challenge from Sesko on Sunderland's Trai Hume. VAR checked the incident and after Attwell went to the pitchside monitor to review it, he reversed his original decision.
Ultimately, United did enough in the first-half to secure the win ahead of a huge test after the international break – a trip to champions and arch rivals Liverpool.