Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim singled out Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Joshua Zirkzee after his team were dumped out of the FA Cup by Fulham. The Red Devils were defeated by their Premier League rivals on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
United fell behind in stoppage time at the end of the first half as Calvin Bassey headed home from close range after finding himself in bags of space following a corner. The hosts then drew level midway through the second half as Fernandes stroked the ball into the back of the net. The match was ultimately settled by a penalty shootout, with Victor Lindelof and Zirkzee seeing their efforts saved by Bernd Leno as Fulham progressed to the quarter-finals.
“We managed to score in the second half after that goal near half time,” Amorim told the BBC after the match.
“It’s harder for us to go and press a little bit high but we managed to do it and score. I think we have the best chances in the game. In the end, the penalties can go both ways and today wasn’t our way. It is important to say that with the substitutions we had our chance to win the game.
“I think we are better in the first ball than the second ball. I think it is also sometimes the quality of the players. Bruno, Casemiro and Josh are improving a lot.”
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Discussing the shootout, Amorim insisted: “I try to relax the players and they know that it is something that is technical – but you have to be relaxed and confident.”
He then turned his attention to the Premier League, with United failing to land the title since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
The Red Devils lifted the league trophy 13 times under the Scot but have come nowhere near adding a 14th title in the last 12 years.
And Amorim explained: “The goal is to win the Premier League. I know that we are losing games but the goal is to win the Premier League again.
“I don’t know how long it will take. We have a goal and we continue forward no matter what. It’s impossible to know, but you start understanding the players are better and we understand the league. We’ll see in the future.”
United travel to Real Sociedad for the first leg of their Europa League last-16 showdown on Thursday night ahead of a Premier League encounter with Arsenal at Old Trafford three days later.
And the Portuguese manager added: “It’s really important but we have to recover the players. They were really tired and we have three days and then here at Old Trafford against Arsenal.”