Amorim reflects on 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest

NicheSportMedia

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim reflects on 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest  01/04/2025  City Ground, Nottingham, UK

Transcript

00:00I think that is clear but we create some chances but we could create more with the possession

00:12that we have. We reached the final third a lot of times but we need to be better in that

00:18final third because that is really important to score goals and we have a lack of goals.

00:26If we start the game suffering a goal and put Nottingham in the place that they want

00:30to be, defending with a lot of men, then they have really fast players to make transitions.

00:36Even that we control quite well, especially in the second half. We push forward but again

00:42in the final third we were not good enough.

00:45That is clear, when you have a corner you have men to block transitions, we have all

00:59the pitch, you can make a foul. I think if you look at the game and if you are the coach

01:06you have to do better.

01:15In the end of the game, when the opponent is just protecting the box, if you look at

01:25the centre defenders of Nottingham, they are really comfortable there. Then with a line

01:29of six, not five, we can reach the final third but then we have to put the ball inside the

01:35box because it is hard to make combinations to get inside the box to score goals. Harry

01:42Maguire, when he is attacking in set-pieces, is maybe the best player in our team. Inside

01:48the box you are not a defender, you are a striker. It was that idea, to put one man

01:54that is really good on the air to score a goal.

01:56He has had six shots tonight, quite a few off target, he should have been out of time

02:03so he is left on side. What did you make of his performance?

02:07He is making everything, he is trying. Sometimes you have one day that you are doing the right

02:11things but in the final third we were not that good. That can happen.

02:16I was going to ask about Alejandro as well. I know you need these chances but do you think

02:23he is trying to play himself into form, doing too much?

02:30That can happen in the game. The most important thing for me is that when he needs to run

02:36back, he is running back. Of course we want a player that has one against one. Sometimes

02:41he is trying too much, he has Dorgo to make a movement but I think he wants to help the

02:45team in doing his best. Sometimes he doesn't make the best choice but that you can point

02:51to any player today.

02:52When Harry came on, it appears to me that he did have two good chances. Is that a concern

02:59that the defender comes on, gets two chances and then those two strikers who can't invest

03:04in him?

03:05It depends on the characteristics. Nottingham was playing with a line of six and then it

03:12is a matter of size and the way you have the ability to hit a ball. I don't see it that

03:22way. That can happen with any team with the best strikers in the world. The defenders

03:27are sometimes the best ones to attack a ball inside the box. Harry was really good on that.

03:35I know this is before your time but how do you avoid it? The fact that you look at such

03:43good players and show mistakes over the years and how recruitment is so crucial. How do

03:51you upgrade?

03:53We are talking about a lot of players from Manchester United and they are doing right

03:58but they had the chance here. In Manchester United you don't have the time. I am saying

04:03it all the time. I will not have the time. We have to get it right fast. You are not

04:10talking about players that didn't play for Manchester United. They were here playing

04:14for Manchester United and here the pressure is too big sometimes. Sometimes you don't

04:20have time and you should have time for these kids to develop but for that you need a strong

04:26base to support all these kids. If you don't have that strong base we are not going to

04:32help our kids. They had their chances and sometimes football is like that and the pressure

04:37of playing for Manchester United is really big.

04:40Do you see him as starting in one of the two ten positions behind the strikers?

04:51I think if you look at the history of Mason Mouty playing in this system many times,

04:58especially in Chelsea and playing in the left ten, right ten. I think it is a very good

05:04position for him.

05:06One of the strengths of Nottingham Forest is they move the ball from back to front really

05:12quickly. Do you look at them as a template sometimes?

05:21When you play a team that is really good on transition, if you transform the game like

05:29this, don't push the defenders to get near. If you lose the ball we are near. If you play

05:34with a big pitch it is harder to block transitions. Sometimes you have to start the play again,

05:39bring the ball and when everybody is close give some speed to the ball. Sometimes you

05:47have to take time to control the game, to dominate the game and today I think I am always

05:53honest when I say our team didn't create chances. Today we created chances and I think we had

06:00lack of quality in the final third. So if we have the quality imagine the chances that

06:05we are supposed to be. So the game is like that. If they are good in transitions you

06:10have to push forward first, push them to a low block to control transitions and we did

06:18that quite well today.

Category

Transcript

Recommended