Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim claimed he did not watch Bruno Fernandes' last-gasp penalty to earn his side a vital 3-2 Premier League win over Burnley on Sunday (AEST) because he knew his captain would not miss.
Amorim, who also chose not to watch United's penalties in their shootout loss at fourth-tier Grimsby in midweek, looked away from Fernandes' 95th minute spot kick, one week on from his skipper's penalty miss at Fulham.
Fernandes made no mistake this time around to give United their first win of the campaign.
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Ruben Amorim.
Ruben Amorim. Stan
"I like to see the image of the fans," Amorim said when asked why he faced towards United's famous Stretford End.
"What has to be has to be. In that moment, I was thinking, it would be fair to win the game. And I did not think Bruno would miss a second in a row."
Amorim looked every inch a manager under pressure as he reacted angrily to another goalkeeping error by Altay Bayindir that gifted Burnley a second half equaliser to make it 2-2 at Old Trafford.
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Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United celebrates.
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United celebrates. Getty
The Portuguese coach joined in jubilant celebrations at the final whistle after Fernandes found the net, but frustrations persisted in another match United should have made more comfortable given the chances they created.
Amorim, who admitted this week he sometimes "hates" his players, given how emotional he is after defeats, was much more positive this time around.
"It ended well, I think we deserved to win the game," Amorim added.
Ruben Amorim applauds the fans.
Ruben Amorim applauds the fans. Getty
"We created a lot of chances, we should go to halftime with a bigger advantage.
"And then, everything in this moment, every possession near our box, they can score, we are in that moment, so we start always chasing a lot of things.
"When they put the effort, I will always love them. Even when Amad (Diallo) is missing that kind of goal, I love Amad, if he's giving everything. I think we need to understand that we should have always been on this level of effort."
Amorim, whose Premier League win percentage from his first 29 games is less than 25 per cent, apologised again to the fans for the Grimsby debacle in his brief programme notes.
His side dominated early on and took a deserved lead through a Josh Cullen own goal in the 27th minute.
But United's wastefulness in front of goal proved costly as Burnley levelled early in the second half through Lyle Foster.
New signing Bryan Mbeumo restored the home side's lead less than two minutes later but a goalkeeping error by Bayindir allowed Jaidon Anthony to equalise again.
Anthony then pulled the shirt of Diallo in the area and four minutes of VAR deliberation eventually awarded a spot kick which Fernandes dispatched.
"I was frustrated like any Man United fan, we had chances to score more goals, create more chances. Today, the football was fair - we were the better team," Amorim said.
Meanwhile, Tottenham were outplayed by an impressive Bournemouth side who should have won by a much larger margin than the one goal scored by Evanilson in the fifth minute - a shot that deflected off Cristian Romero past Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Predictably, Tottenham were booed at fulltime.
"I prefer them not to boo but I understand it was not a good performance today," Spurs manager Thomas Frank said.
Thomas Frank speaks to the media during a Tottenham Hotspur press conference.
Thomas Frank speaks to the media during a Tottenham Hotspur press conference. Getty
"They have high expectations which I understand. The players put their heart out there but didn't hit our football levels today."
Chelsea rode their luck against Fulham but moved on to seven points with a 2-0 win.
Joao Pedro scored his fifth goal in his last five competitive matches to put the hosts ahead and Enzo Fernandez's penalty secured the points in the second half.
Fulham, however, were left seething after teenaged midfielder Joshua King's opener was ruled out after a long VAR check for a supposed foul by Rodrigo Muniz in the build-up.
"How you disallow a goal like that one is unbelievable. Unbelievable," manager Marco Silva told TNT Sports.
"We can talk about many things but I'd prefer to say nothing more, because I'll be punished."
Everton moved to six points as loan signing Jack Grealish made two assists in his side's win at Molineux.
Grealish's headed cross allowed Beto to score after seven minutes before Hwang Hee-chan equalised in the 21st minute.
Everton went back in front when Grealish's reverse pass allowed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to pick out Iliman Ndiaye who celebrated his goal with a wolf pose.
Another Grealish pass saw Dewsbury-Hall make it 3-1 with a shot off the post before Rodrigo Gomes scored a consolation for the hosts who have now lost three from three.
Sunderland, back in the top flight after an eight year absence, joined Everton on six points as Wilson Isidor headed a stoppage-time winner to defeat Brentford.