Ruben Amorim admits Liverpool are better than Manchester United but insists his team “can win any game”.
United head into a daunting trip to Anfield on Sunday having lost their last three Premier League games, dropping to 14th in the table in the process. They sit just seven points above the relegation zone and Amorim recently admitted the club may be at “one of their lowest moments”.
The last team they now want to face is Liverpool – their old rivals who sit top of the table after winning their last three league games, scoring 14 goals in the process.
Add to that some heavy recent defeats against the Merseysiders – including a 7-0 drubbing in 2023 – and it’s hard to find cause for optimism for anyone of the United persuasion.
Asked what gave him the belief that United could pull off a big surprise on Sunday, Amorim said: “Because in football, anything can happen in one game. If we talk about the season, then almost every time the best team wins. They are better than us right now, but we can win every game. We need to focus not on the context but on the performance. We have to improve the simple things.”
Polygon, the best place to solve problems – Amorim
Amorim has struggled to implement his favored 3-4-3 formation that brought him success at previous club Sporting CP, but will be hoping his time on the training pitch will show a more cohesive performance at the weekend.
“We had more time for training, two days in a row, I think that can help us. Of course it’s a difficult moment because we’re losing too many games, we’re going against the best team this year. We want to improve the performance compared to the last game [a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle on Monday night]. We cannot change the past, we want to change what is coming.
“You can see the lack of possession in the last game in the first half, everyone was so worried, so nervous. The crosses, everything was so important, it’s hard to say one thing other than possession, the way we controlled the tempo, understanding how we should play.”
A heavy defeat will increase the pressure on Amor despite the fact that he has only been in the job since November.
But the Portuguese is unfazed by any potential slump as he bids to lead United to their first win at Anfield in nine years.
“I’m just focused on performing,” he said. I didn’t focus on the defeat or what might happen. We had a loss, we prepared this game to win and we know what we are up against.
“My focus is to prepare the team not to have that difficult moment that you saw in the first 15 minutes against Newcastle, I want to improve that.
“We know that this will be a difficult moment, a really different context for both teams. They have had a strong base for many years but this week we are working to win the game, we will try to do that.”
Maguire remains red
Amorim has confirmed that United will exercise the option to keep Harry Maguire for another 12 months after admitting the squad lacks leadership.
“I don’t think it’s one thing in our team, but in all teams,” he said. “If you want to be a top, top team, you have to be leaders and we have that in the dressing room, but they have to step up.
“We also have a lot of small children and this moment is really difficult. We can look at the table, but you are still Manchester United.”
