Amorim’s new £200million frontline of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have yet to contribute a goal since joining the club.
Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United remain winless (Adam Davy/PA)open image in gallery
Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United remain winless (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire)
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Ruben Amorim is confident his misfiring Manchester United strikeforce will start finding the target soon.
Amorim’s new £200million frontline of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo played the final 40 minutes of Sunday’s Premier League clash at Fulham.
But all they had to show for it was a deflected header from teenage centre-back Leny Yoro, which went in off the back of Rodrigo Muniz, in a frustrating 1-1 draw.
Cunha hit a post inside two minutes but Mbeumo was anonymous and Sesko, the £73m signing from RB Leipzig who came on as a substitute, did not muster a single effort at goal.
Bruno Fernandes also missed a first-half penalty, and it came as no surprise when Fulham secured a deserved point through Emile Smith Rowe with 18 minutes left.
“It was a tough match, and when we scored the goal we forgot about maintaining the way we play and tried to maintain the result. We want to win so bad,” said United boss Amorim.
“After the goals we were just thinking about maintaining the advantage and we cannot do that. We have to grow up a lot as a team.
“The feeling is there. We are going to score goals because we are creating chances and that is the most important thing.
“He (Sesko) needs time. It’s not easy to come off the bench when the game is really fast. He is learning the game is faster than the Bundesliga but he had some good connections with his team-mates.”
The match burst into life after half an hour when the VAR spotted some grappling in the area between Calvin Bassey and Mason Mount at a corner.
Replays showed the Fulham defender had virtually thrown Mount over his shoulder to the ground, WWE style.
Referee Chris Kavanagh gave the penalty but Fernandes blazed his spot-kick into the Hammersmith End.
United did go ahead in the 58th minute through the unlikely source of teenage defender Yoro, who met Mbeumo’s corner with a header which hit the back of Muniz and wrongfooted Bernd Leno as it flew into the net.
However, Fulham responded in the 72nd minute when Alex Iwobi’s ball into the box was missed by Matthijs de Ligt and prodded home by former Arsenal forward Smith Rowe, who had come on as a sub moments earlier.
Fulham boss Marco Silva felt there was a push on Calvin Bassey for United’s goal and was also less than impressed with the penalty decision, saying “I think what I saw, everybody saw what happened in terms of VAR decisions.”
He added: “Apart from the first 20 minutes we did not give them any big moments.
“They scored a goal and our reaction was top level in my opinion. The players kept their composure, their balance and kept to the plan. We controlled the game well and scored a great goal.”