Amorim: “The victory is important to prepare for the Manchester derby”
Portuguese coach was pleased with the three points won in the Czech Republic and is looking ahead to the clash with Guardiola’s team
Despite having practically gone behind in the second half, Manchester United turned the tables and added three more points in the Europa League , climbing into the top eight for the first time in this league phase, something that left Ruben Amorim very pleased, despite a poor first half against Plzen .
“We improved during the game. We controlled the game in the first half, but without many chances. We lacked speed and movement and we didn’t control the ball because the pitch was difficult to connect with the forwards. Plzen did n’t have any chances either,” he began by saying, in statements to TNT Sports , before explaining what he corrected for the second half.
“In the second half we conceded a goal, but we reacted well. We pushed the opposition back into their own area and managed to score. The pace has improved. I told the players that we need to move more up front because they need to feel we are a threat. We changed our game a bit and the players on the bench helped too. We improved not only our way of playing, but also the pace of the game. The win is important at the moment and it is good to prepare for the next game,” he explained, with his sights set on the Manchester derby on Sunday.
The Portuguese coach also highlighted two players, Hojlund , who scored twice, and Diallo , who has been adapting to the right wing position: « Hojlund is improving. He is now closer to the goal. He knows better the movements he has to make. He could score more tonight, but he is scoring, working and controlling the ball better. Diallo can be a good player in that position. We need left-footed players in this team to play that role. In the first half, he was getting the ball too much. He needs to play closer to the opposition defence. He will definitely improve in the future», he assured, analysing how the team has improved since the last game, the defeat to Nottingham Forest , from NES.
“We are improving in some details. We controlled the transitions very well. We were aggressive when we lost the ball. We need to spend more time close to the opponent’s goal,” he concluded.
