Winless Manchester United need to ‘grow up’, says Ruben Amorim

LONDON – Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim believes his side need to show more maturity after blowing the lead to draw 1-1 at Fulham on Aug 24 to remain without a win this season.

The Red Devils were made to pay for not making more of a dominant first 45 minutes, during which Bruno Fernandes blazed a penalty over the bar.

Amorim, though, was more concerned by what he saw after United took the lead, thanks to Rodrigo Muniz’s own goal just before the hour mark.

Fulham hit back to level through Emile Smith Rowe 17 minutes from time and ended the game on top.

“We scored the goal and then we forgot about how we play,” said Amorim, who has won just seven of his 29 English Premier League games in charge.

“We want to win so badly and that is a good feeling, that we scored a goal and everyone on the pitch was thinking, ‘Let’s hold on to the advantage and try to win the game’.

“For me, that is the moment that we have to enjoy more and push the opponent. We tried to press the opponent super high and left a lot of space.

“We have to grow up a lot as a team. For me, the most important thing is that during the week they were working really hard.

“Today we worked really hard and we are going to improve.

“The moment that changed the game was our goal.”

United captain Fernandes is normally a clinical penalty taker and Amorim said his Portuguese compatriot let the 38th-minute miss affect him for the rest of the game.

“You have to put that in the past during the game,” added Amorim.

“He is our leader and he has so much responsibility. I felt that he missed the penalty and he was thinking about it during the game. We need to move forward and to play the game.”

Amorim added: “During the game, he was not happy because he was not involved and he has so much responsibility and I think he thought missing the penalty was huge for us.”

It marked the fifth time Fernandes has missed a penalty since his Premier League debut in 2020.

Fernandes, usually composed and often decisive, looked irritated when the referee Chris Kavanagh accidentally bumped into him before his run-up and Craven Cottage erupted when the Portuguese playmaker skied his spot kick.

Said Fernandes: “As a penalty-taker, you have your own routines, your own things that you do.

“It upset me because the referee didn’t apologise.

“That is what triggered me in that moment, but that’s not the excuse for missing the penalty.

“I had a very bad hit on the ball. I put my foot too under the ball and that’s why it ended up going over the bar.”

Fulham, too, were left furious at two major decisions that went in United’s favour.

The visitors’ penalty came after a video assistant referee (VAR) intervention when Calvin Bassey and Mason Mount were grappling at a corner.

Yet, when Bassey appeared to be pushed by Leny Yoro in the move that led to United’s goal, VAR officials did not get involved.

“I cannot understand. I would like to explain everything to you from the first whistle until the last, but it is not my job,” said Fulham boss Marco Silva.

“I don’t want to go in this direction. Everybody in the world saw what happened this afternoon at Craven Cottage.” AFP, REUTERS