It wasn’t a win but considering the pre-match expectations, Manchester United blew past every single one to get a well-deserved draw at Anfield.
Ruben Amorim will be extremely pleased with the performance, almost turning into three points if not for some sloppy finishing as he finally saw some bite from the Man Utd squad.
United outran Liverpool on the day which will please the fans and the likes of Alejandro Garnacho made an impact off the bench to bat away another cloud at the club.
It was the first time United had gotten the chance to have multiple training sessions in preparation for the game and Amorim’s work on the pitch paid dividends.
Bruno Fernandes and Amorim, however, differed from that viewpoint and refused to put that performance down to training time…
Bruno Fernandes on positive display vs Liverpool
Just turning up and playing for the whole 90 would have been enough to call this display an improvement from the Newcastle game.
Buoyed by the return of Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte’s energy, United worked like, in Amorim’s words, “like mad dogs” and saw the result of that hard work.
Every United player looked assured of their role and that was a testament to Amorim working his magic in training, something which should fill fans with hope for the future.
It was the sort of performance that would buy Amorim time and trust while getting the backing from the players as they saw his work pay off on a matchday.
However, Fernandes rejected suggestions after the game that Amorim’s work with them was the reason behind his display.
He said: “It’s not about that [week on the training pitch]. It’s about putting in real effort, putting in some passion. Of course, you have tactics and everything, but you need to put in your effort, and that’s why we got something from this game today. You can’t stop here and bring this frustration to the next game. This has to be our level.”
Amorim echoed similar sentiments, saying he was ‘mad’ about the performance and why United didn’t play like this in other games.
He said: “I want to see my team play so much better but most important thing to address today is mentality – we were a different team today, not because of system, tactical, we faced competition I way were supposed to. Doesn’t matter opponent, we have to face like that.”
Bruno Fernandes’ comments damning on Man Utd
Fernandes sounded extremely upset in the post-match interview, baffled even on his own performance levels in games leading up to this one.
United have made it a habit of playing the occasion, not the game, never once matching their performance levels consistently.
Fernandes’ comments that they put in real effort and passion here which got them the positive result is a severe indictment on the players’ mentality because it implies they slack off on a weekly basis.
If that is truly the case, then it goes much beyond Amorim fixing the mess tactically because bringing about that cultural shift is much more difficult.
As things stand, United fans are in a remarkable position where they can be slightly confident that the team will turn up against Arsenal but the Southampton game at home after that is a complete toss-up.
The players need to shake off that reputation quickly. No successful team can work like that.
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