Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim believes his side are finally beginning to blossom, following an impressive 4-1 win over Bournemouth in a pre-season friendly here on Wednesday.
Amid torrential rainfall and heavy winds, the Red Devils appeared unperturbed with Rasmus Hojlund (8th minute), Patrick Dorgu (25th min), Amad Diallo (53rd min) and teenager Ethan Williams (72nd min) all getting onto the scoresheet. Only an 88th minute own-goal by Matthijs de Ligt, ruined their opportunity to bag a clean sheet.
Another encouraging sign was the fact that the result was achieved despite Amorim rolling out a side featuring six changes to the starting line-up that beat West Ham 2-1 last week.
Ruben Amorim, Man United manager
He also left out new signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, with the latter tipped to make his debut in the upcoming friendly match against Everton on August 3.
“More than the results, it’s the way we are playing. The players were faster and stronger. I think we are playing better because the players are connecting better with each other on and off the pitch. The players that we had last season are improving. I’m very happy with that. We looked like a different team today,” said an optimistic Amorim.
However, the Portuguese manager warned fans to not get too far ahead of themselves, despite the team having built an early wave of momentum. “It’s a pre-season game after all. The pressure is going to be so much different during the season. It’s important for them [the fans] to understand that the same players can play a different game,” said Amorim.
Manchester United still have two more friendlies — against Everton and Fiorentina — to fine-tune their game before their English Premier League opener against last season’s runners-up Arsenal on August 17.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola lamented his team’s cohesiveness. “We struggled because we didn’t have that collectiveness. Some players performed well, but others did not, and they made everyone look worse. We need all of our players on the same page,” said the Spanish coach.
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