Ruben Amorim ‘believes’ after dramatic Manchester United’s derby win

MANCHESTER – Ruben Amorim said Manchester United deserved to beat Manchester City, after their dramatic late finish to win 2-1 in the English Premier League at the Etihad on Dec 15.

City’s Josko Gvardiol opened the scoring with a first-half header, but Bruno Fernandes levelled from the penalty spot in the 88th minute and Amad Diallo struck a sensational winner two minutes later.

“It was incredible. I think we deserved it. It was a very tough match, but we believe until the end. We managed to score, we needed that win, it was important for us and for our fans,” Amorim told the BBC.

“We were in the game for 90 minutes and that is very good. We talk about the Arsenal game (a 2-0 defeat). We played well in the first half, but they were not believing that we could win. Today was so much more different.

“I also believe. Then we have Fergie time and we put the things together and something magic happened. It was a good day for us.”

Amorim, who took over from the sacked Erik ten Hag in November, said the supporters needed the win – just his second EPL victory since arriving at Old Trafford.

“They (the fans) need it. Just like us, but you can see the way they celebrate is special. But we need to continue. Our club needs to win these kinds of matches. I understand the happiness of our fans, but we need to continue,” he said.

“With a victory for City, the performance was the same. We need to improve a lot of things, but today the guys deserved the win. They were in it until the last minute and that is important for us.”

United looked to be heading for what would have been three consecutive Premier League defeats for the first time since December 2015 but hit back for just Amorim’s second win in five league matches, with Diallo playing a pivotal role.

Defeat leaves City still in fifth, nine point off leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand. United stay 13th but close to within five points of their city rivals.

Speaking about Man of the Match Diallo, Amorim said: “He can play different positions, he is very humble. We have to be very careful with Amad because sometimes in our club we put young players in a special place. Let’s stay calm with Amad.”

In fact, two of United’s home-grown stars dominated the headlines as Amorim made the bold decision to leave forwards Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho at home.

“When people in the club are losing their jobs, we have to push our standards really high,” the Portuguese said, referring to former sporting director Dan Ashworth, who parted ways with the club a week earlier, as well as 250 job cuts as part of a club-wide redundancy programme.

Omitting Rashford and Garnacho, Amorim said, however, was not a disciplinary move, but warned his side that he “pays attention to everything”.

“Next week, next game, new life, they are fighting for their places. But for me it’s important, the performance in training, the performance in game, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with teammates, the way you push your teammates, everything is important when we want to change a lot of things,” the 39-year-old said.

“They have to fight for a place in the team and today the team proved we can leave anyone out of the squad and manage to win if you play together.”

A United source told the PA news agency that Garnacho’s absence had nothing do with allegations about team leaks, with the line-up for the derby revealed a day before the game.

Asked about those apparent leaks, Amorim said: “I know that story, but I don’t know. I think it’s impossible to fix nowadays because there are a lot of people in the club, players talk with agents, you can talk with a friend, it’s hard to know.

“It’s not a good thing, but let’s move on to the next one and if they find the next starting XI.” REUTERS, AFP