MANCHESTER, England :Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim claimed he did not watch Bruno Fernandes’ last-gasp penalty to earn his side a vital 3-2 Premier League win over Burnley on Saturday because he knew his captain would not miss.
Amorim, who also chose not to watch United’s penalties in their shootout loss at fourth-tier Grimsby in midweek, looked away from Fernandes’ 95th-minute spot kick, one week on from his skipper’s penalty miss at Fulham.
Fernandes made no mistake this time around to give United their first win of the campaign.
“I like to see the image of the fans,” Amorim said when asked why he faced towards United’s famous Stretford End. “What has to be has to be.
“In that moment, I was thinking, it would be fair to win the game. And I did not think Bruno would miss a second in a row.”
Amorim looked every inch a manager under pressure as he reacted angrily to another goalkeeping error by Altay Bayindir that gifted Burnley a second-half equaliser to make it 2-2 at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese coach joined in jubilant celebrations at the final whistle after Fernandes found the net, but frustrations persisted in another match United should have made more comfortable given the chances they created.
Amorim, who admitted this week he sometimes “hates” his players, given how emotional he is after defeats, was much more positive this time around.
“It ended well, I think we deserved to win the game,” Amorim added. “We created a lot of chances, we should go to halftime with a bigger advantage.
“And then, everything in this moment, every possession near our box, they can score, we are in that moment, so we start always chasing a lot of things.
“When they put the effort, I will always love them. Even when Amad (Diallo) is missing that kind of goal, I love Amad, if he’s giving everything. I think we need to understand that we should have always been on this level of effort.”
