Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim was happy his side came from behind to beat Southampton at Old Trafford.
Manuel Ugarte’s own goal put the hosts behind until the final 10 minutes, before some magic from Amado Diallo saved the Red Devils.
The 22-year-old scored a 10-minute hat-trick, completing the comeback and moving the team up to 12th in the Premier League table.
And while Amorim was relieved and pleased with the result, he couldn’t help but lose focus on the scrappiness of his players throughout the game.
He said: “It’s good in the end. A very difficult game, a game of two halves. They did a very good job Southampton. Creating space between lines.
“Number 20 [Kamaldeen Sulemana] with a lot of space. We had a lot of difficulty stopping that player. When they lose their physicality, we find a space that we can use. It feels like we have so much to do – the team is really tired.
“It seems like a lack of enthusiasm. Ugarte is late and Mainoo is late, Bruno Fernandes goes out while the ball is in.
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“One transition and Yoro can’t catch a guy – little things push the team behind and then we get nervous.
“Today was not a lack of enthusiasm, it was a lack of control in the game.
“It was a victory, it was good – let’s continue.”
Amorim began to praise Diallo, who pulled the former Sporting boss out of a hole.
He added: “Even in the first half, every time Amad gets the ball, he can push the ball.
“He pushes the other team into the final third – that’s really important. We didn’t play a good game, but at this moment the victory is the most important thing.”
The man himself was delighted to earn his match ball and even went so far as to suggest United could win every game going forward.
Diallo said, “I feel good. I am so happy to have scored my first hat-trick at Old Trafford. But the most important thing for me was to win this game and I’m happy for the club that we managed to win.
“I am so happy for the goal against Liverpool, as I am today. But the most important thing was to win and I’m happy about that.
“I think the team believed until the end. Today we showed that we are the best team on the field. We wanted to win this game and in the end we did it.
“It is important to win. This gives us confidence for the next game. We have to continue like this and play like this. I believe in this team. We can win every game. In the end, we showed that we are very good.”
