Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has spoken to the media ahead of the Red Devils first away trip of the season, where they face Marco Silva's Fulham.
United will be hoping to bounce back from a defeat at home to Arsenal in matchday one, which, despite the result, still sparked a lot of encouragement with the Manchester United fanbase.
"They understand the league" - Amorim previews Fulham encounter
Fulham have not always been the easiest opponent for Manchester United to face, most recently knocking the Red Devils out of the FA Cup. Amorim highlighted the fact that the Cottagers are a tough team to play, also praising manager Marco Silva:
"It’s always hard to play against Fulham. They have a clear identity. Marco Silva is really experienced and really smart, he can change several things, cover several spaces and you can see game-by-game, 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. But if you look at the schedule, every game is really hard to play, so it’s going to be a tough match."
Unlike Arsenal, Fulham are not going to play on the front foot against Manchester United, likely sitting much deeper. United of course, will have to operate in a different way than the way they did against Arsenal, if they want to break down their opponents. Amorim believes that his team have improved in this respect, stating that his team can adapt to situations:
"We are better, but also because I think we have different characteristics and we can change that during the game. We have more options, so you see that we play in a little bit of a different style with Cunha and then at the end with Sesko because he is a different player and we can use that."
"I think we are improving in that department also, we are creating more chances, so we are ready for any type of game. I think the biggest improvement is that we didn’t lose the ball so many times in build up, that was really good as well as for our team, so we will try to be consistent. So, trying to maintain the level and trying to improve a little bit."
"It's really important for us"
Although Manchester United fell to a defeat against Arsenal in their opening game of the season, there were clear improvements on display all over the pitch for the Red Devils.
It was already a significantly improved performance from the ones witnessed throughout last season. Amorim also expressed his belief that his side did well last Sunday, but also stated that there remains room for improvement:
"I think we did well, we played well, but there is a lot of things that we need to improve. Every game has its history. The space and the opponent is 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 just consistent in our performance and consistency is not just playing in the same way, it’s to maintain the level and not drop too much, and I feel that pre-season is pre-season, but even in pre-season and against Arsenal, our consistency was good."
Two players who stood out in particular last weekend were the English duo of Mason Mount and Luke Shaw. The pair have not had the best medical record throughout their time at the club and will be hoping to enjoy a long period of playing time without sustaining any new injuries.
Amorim also stated that the pair were crucial to helping United achieve their goals this season and went on to praise Luke Shaw, labelling him as a 'special' player:
"They are very, very good players, they are experienced, they play a lot of matches. Mason Mount won the Champions League, Luke Shaw I think I already said, when he’s fit, he’s really a special player, and you can see it every time he plays."
"So, it’s really important for us to have these two guys available for more games.”