Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim demanded more urgency from his players when it comes to defending, urging them to ‘put everything on the line’ ahead of the English Premier League clash against a high-flying Aston Villa side.
The Red Devils conceded four goals to Bournemouth last weekend, and were lucky to escape with a draw. Amorim believes each of those goals could have been avoided with more vigilant defending. “We watch the game again against Bournemouth we can avoid those goals. There was a lot of transition and we have to put everything on the line when we’re defending and sometimes we’re not doing that,” said Amorim.
Ruben Amorim
The Portuguese manager is wary that if Sunday’s opponents get the same opportunities, there may be no saving grace for his team. Villa are currently third in the EPL table with 33 points from 16 games, and Amorim, just like many pundits, is not ruling them out as title challengers.
“Everything can happen. They have a manager with a lot of experience, when you watch Villa you can sense it’s a very mature team, they don’t panic when they’re losing, don’t feel overwhelmed when winning, they can control the emotion all the time. They are a very strong team,” said Amorim.
United’s task of containing Unai Emery’s men will be made more challenging with the absences of first-choice centre-backs Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt. They’ll need skipper Bruno Fernandes (five goals and six assists) to step up once again if they are to get the better of Villa.
Chelsea rally from 0-2 down to secure 2-2 draw vs Newcastle
Chelsea’s Reece James celebrates his goal against Newcastle on Saturday
Chelsea saved Enzo Maresca from more awkward questions as they fought back from two goals down to rescue a 2-2 draw against Newcastle on Saturday.
Maresca’s side were in danger of a damaging defeat after Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade struck twice in the first half at St James’s Park.
But Chelsea hit back after the interval thanks to Reece James’s superb free-kick and Joao Pedro’s eye-catching solo effort.
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