Ruben Amorim has praised his Manchester United squad for their emotion that fueled a late comeback to secure a 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday, even if those emotions boiled over after the full-time whistle.
On the road in Czechia, United were mistake-prone all across the pitch as they continued their continental journey, and a glaring Andre Onana error led to the opener for the hosts just after halftime.
It wasn’t exactly pretty from the Red Devils, but they would fight back in the end on a brace from substitute Rasmus Hojlund. The Danish international entered for a woefully poor Marcus Rashford just before hour mark and would make an immediate impact, finding the equalizer in the 62nd minute.
MORE: All the latest Man United news | Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings
The rest of the second half was tough sledding, and the visitors were far from buttoned up, but Hojlund would eventually crop up again in the 88th minute to secure the victory.
Following the final whistle, Hojlund could be seen on the pitch locked in a heated exchange with teammate Amad Diallo. It was unclear what exactly the exchange was about, but it did not worry the United boss one bit. In fact, he was encouraged by the outburst, calling it a “very good sign.”
“We need to feel something,” after the match. “If we need to fight each other, it’s like a family. When you don’t care, you do nothing. When you care, you fight with your brother, father or mother.”
“In this moment, we need to feel something,” the Portuguese manager exclaimed. “If we need to fight each other it’s like a family, for me it’s a very, very good sign. We need to feel something and that is important.
“That is clear (that they care). When you don’t care, you don’t do nothing. When you care, you fight with your brother, with your father, with your mother.”
The new Red Devils’ boss is hoping that what they’re lacking in form or skill can at least partially be made up with desire.
“It’s a normal thing, it’s a positive thing, a healthy thing. So I let the players and the captain to calm down the things. If I think it’s too much I will go inside the dressing room. But it’s their space, they have to talk, to fight and for me it’s a very important thing.
“I am happy that we win the game and still fight each other, that is a very good thing. When you win and you fight with your teammate because you want to score one more, for me it’s a very good day for us.”
Hojlund, meanwhile, said that while he’s excited about the victory, this team is still learning on the fly under the new manager. In fact, the United striker points out that they are seeing games as training exercises at the moment, as it’s the best — and even only — environment to practice their new tactics.
“We still need more time, it’s still very early days, it’s about getting the routines together and it’s getting under the skin now,” Hojlund said. “But it still needs a lot of practice and a lot of time, we don’t have a lot of sessions so we have to train it during matches. I know it sounds a bit off, but it’s how you learn it best.”
