Amorim insists his comments were ‘emotional’ after Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup defeat at Grimsby
Amorim declared his side were worthy winners after Bruno Fernandes’ penalty deep into stoppage time saw them scrape a 3-2 win over Burnley.
In a week that saw them suffer a shock penalty shootout loss to League Two Grimsby in the Carabao Cup, this was a must-win match for United in a week in which Amorim has faced questions over his future.
But they only just got over the line with Fernandes scoring in the seventh minute of time added on.
Ireland midfielder Josh Cullen’s 27th-minute own goal put them in front but United squandered a series of first-half chances before Lyle Foster levelled 10 minutes into the second half.
It took only seconds for Bryan Mbeumo to restore the lead but they lacked composure and allowed Jaidon Anthony to level again before the late drama.
“It ended well,” Amorim said. “I think we deserved to win the game. I think we created a lot of chances. We should go to the half-time with a bigger advantage.
“And then…every possession near our box, they can score, we are in that moment, so we start always chasing a lot of things. But we deserved and we tried until the last minute to score goals, we had our chances and in the end we deserved to win.”
Burnley’s two equalisers will bring fresh scrutiny to United’s goalkeepers, with Altay Bayindir restored as first choice ahead of Andre Onana for this game.
Foster was afforded freedom to tap home while United failed to deal with a corner before Anthony finally prodded in a shot that struck both Kobbie Mainoo and Bayindir on its way in.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim appears dejected on the touchline: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim appears dejected on the touchline: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.
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“Guys, they are humans,” Amorim said. “Manchester United, everything is (huge). Everybody talks about the goalkeeper. And you can see, I can change the goalkeeper in the situations that happen. We are in that moment. I think it is hard to be a Manchester United goalkeeper in this moment.
“But if you look at the first goal, we can defend it better. We suffered a quite similar goal against Fulham, because we don’t do the full rotation of the team when the ball is on the other side. All these small things have nothing to do with the goalkeeper.
“So, the players are struggling a little bit with all the things around the club. That is normal. So it’s not just the goalkeepers. I think everybody has to improve.”
Amorim was asked if he may have taken charge of his last game as United manager, after his comments on Friday suggesting he has “thought about quitting” sparking suggestions that he may hold talks with United chiefs during the upcoming international break.
"I am really emotional, and in the last few months you can see why. I am like that, and you like that,” he added.
"I was not thinking about the future when Bruno took the penalty. I just knew he would not miss another penalty.
“The important thing is that we work. I’m not thinking about turning points, I have this conversation with you guys like 10 times so it’s day by day.
"I’m happy we return sometimes playing really well or not so well. We return a little bit to the team that we should be - competitive, creating chances we need to score - sometimes we block the opponent in their half, we press really high so we have a lot to do but we return a little bit to our level today.”