Manchester United stars back Amorim, says De Ligt | OneFootball

Matthijs de Ligt insists that the players of Manchester United "stand by" the under-pressure coach Ruben Amorim and deserve the blame for the disastrous start to the season.

Amorim's team needed a stoppage-time penalty converted by Bruno Fernandes to beat newly-promoted Burnley 3-2 this Saturday, after squandering the lead twice at Old Trafford.

This was United's first Premier League win in three games this season, just days after a humiliating second-round League Cup exit to fourth-tier Grimsby.

Amorim under pressure

Amorim had admitted, after the surprising cup defeat, that he sometimes thinks about leaving United and often feels angry at his players.

With speculation about his future still high, despite the win over Burnley, defender De Ligt came to the coach's defense.

“I think the only thing that counted was the victory,” he said. “Everyone saw how. We know we could have done better, but the most important thing was to win.”

Support for the coach

Asked if he wanted Amorim to stay, De Ligt added: “Yes, of course. I mean, as a player you are responsible for the results. They always talk about the coach, obviously, but I think as players we also look each other in the eyes after Grimsby and said to each other: ‘guys, this week's performance is not acceptable’,” he said.

“It would be very wrong to say that it's the coach's fault… it's mainly ours, and we know that. So, yes, obviously we are still with him, and he is with us, so we continue like this. I think today's result reinforces this feeling even more,” the athlete added.

Wounds from the Cup fall

De Ligt sported a black eye from Wednesday's battle against Grimsby, which ended in a penalty shootout defeat after United had sought a draw after being two goals down.

The defender said the embarrassing result was not much discussed among the group because it was too painful.

“I don't think much was said, because everyone knows what the feeling was,” he commented.

“I think everyone from outside can also understand the feeling of losing a game like that. So, yes, it's not easy. We know that. We were really disappointed, mainly with ourselves, so winning today was the only cure that helped a little to ease Wednesday's defeat,” he added.

Criticism and upcoming challenges

United hardly showed cohesion against Burnley, with defensive failures and goalkeeper errors allowing the visitors to equalize twice.

But Fernandes' heroics in yet another performance in the United shirt kept the criticism under control ahead of the international break.

United's upcoming games

Amorim will have a big test of his job security when the Premier League returns:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.