Ruben Amorim admits Liverpool are better than Manchester United, but clings to the belief that his team “can win any game”.
United make an arduous trip to Anfield on Sunday having lost their last three Premier League matches, falling to 14th in the table. They sit just seven points above the relegation zone, and Amorim recently admitted the club may be in “one of their lowest moments”.
The last team they want to face now is Liverpool – their old rivals who sit at the top of the table having won their last three league games and scored 14 goals in the process.
Add to that some painful recent defeats at the hands of the Merseyside club – including a 7-0 defeat in 2023 – and it is difficult to find reasons for optimism for anyone of United's persuasion.
Asked what made him think United could pull off a big upset on Sunday, Amorim said: “Because in football, in one match anything can happen. If you talk about the season, almost every time the better team wins.” “Right now they are better than us, but we can win any match. We have to focus not on the context, but on the performance. We have to improve the simple things.”
The training ground is the best place to correct problems – Amorim
Amorim struggled to execute his favored 3-4-3 formation that brought him success at former club Sporting Lisbon, but he will hope his time on the training pitch will see him perform more cohesively at the weekend.
“We've had more time to train, two days in a row, and I think that can help us. Of course, it's a difficult moment because we're losing a lot of games, and we're going up against the best team of the year. We want to improve the performance compared to the last match (2-0 defeat to Newcastle). Monday evening). We cannot change the past, but we want to change what comes.
“You could see the lack of possession of the ball in the last game in the first half, everyone was very worried and very nervous. Crossing, everything was very important, it is difficult to say one thing other than possession, the way we controlled the tempo, and understanding the way to go.” To play with it.
A heavy defeat will increase pressure on Amorim even though he has only been in office since November.
However, the Portuguese is not worried about any potential repercussions, as he attempts to lead United to a first win at Anfield in nine years.
“I'm just focused on performing,” he said. “I didn't focus on the loss or what could happen. We had some losses, we prepared this game to win and we know what we're up against.
“My focus is to prepare the team so that they do not have that difficult moment that I saw in the first 15 minutes against Newcastle, I want to improve that.
“We know it will be a difficult moment, a really different context for both teams. They have had that strong base for many years but we are working this week to win the game, and we will try to do that.
Maguire will stay with the Reds
Amorim confirmed that United will exercise the option to keep Harry Maguire for another 12 months after admitting that the team lacks leaders.
“I think it's not about our team, it's about all teams,” he said. “If you want to be a top team, you have to be a leader, and that is in the dressing room, but they have to step up.
“We have a lot of young kids too and this moment is really difficult. We can look at the table but you are still Manchester United.”
