Cliff Notes – Amorim: ‘I don’t care’ about Slot’s Man United comments
- Ruben Amorim dismissed Arne Slot’s comments on Manchester United’s playing style, emphasising his focus on improving the team’s performance rather than external opinions.
- Following a crucial 2-1 victory against Liverpool, Amorim noted the importance of adapting to different game situations and downplayed the significance of potential turning points in the season.
- Injury concerns linger for Harry Maguire and Mason Mount ahead of the Brighton match, while young talent JJ Gabriel participated in training to gain first-team experience.
Amorim: ‘I don’t care’ about Slot’s Man United comments
Ruben Amorim said he does not care what Arne Slot has to say about his Manchester United team after the Liverpool boss spoke of low blocks and long balls following last weekend’s Anfield encounter.
The Red Devils celebrated a first victory on enemy turf since 2016 as Harry Maguire’s late header sealed a 2-1 win shortly after Cody Gakpo had cancelled out Bryan Mbeumo’s early opener.
It was Liverpool’s fourth straight loss in all competitions and boss Slot said afterwards that “it is always difficult to play against a team that defends in a low block and mainly plays the long ball.”
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But such comments are water off a duck’s back to Amorim, who had no interest in the Dutchman’s assessment.
“Liverpool is in the past, I don’t want to comment,” he said ahead of United’s home game against Brighton. “That is not important.
“Important is what Fabian [Hürzeler] said to try to understand what is going to happen [against Brighton].
“I understand everything. I am really pleased that the team can play different games.
“It was an important win, but I was the first one to say that we need to play better with the ball. So, I don’t care what Slot is saying, what people are saying about our team.
“I can evaluate my team and I am really clear that we should play better with the ball. We are going to try to do that in this game.”
Ruben Amorim led Manchester United to a long-awaited win at Anfield last weekend. Carl Recine/Getty Images
Amorim was pleased by the way his side adapted to the circumstances and sealed a statement win against Liverpool.
It was the first time that United have won back-to-back Premier League games since the Portuguese arrived last November and there is hope it could prove the turning point of his reign.
“We are always talking about that but that connects with the other question about the way we face competition,” Amorim said of that possibility.
“If you just think about that — that we are going to try to perform and put everything on the field — that is the most important thing.
“So, sometimes when you talk too much about turning points, it’s worse. Let’s take it naturally.
“We’ve won two games. It’s no big deal, it should have come sooner. Let’s go for the next game.”
Maguire and Mason Mount will have knocks assessed before the Brighton game, but Lisandro Martínez is the only definite absentee.
Among those that trained with the group this week was highly rated attacker JJ Gabriel, who turned 15 earlier this month and took part in a session.
“Like everyone, I know that he is a really talented guy and everyone pays attention with the social media,” Amorim said.
“But you can see that the under-21s had a game so we had less players and we tried to pick some players [for training] that have talent.
“Not just for me to see for tomorrow but for them to feel what it means to be in the first team. The difficulties of playing against our defenders, the difficulties to be in our training, the pace.
“If we can use every training that we have to show the kids what they need to do to be here, it’s important. Not just for JJ but for everyone.”