Following a frantic Saturday evening that saw both sides reduced to 10 men during the opening half, Manchester United earned a vital three points with an aggressive 2-1 victory against Chelsea.
The Reds made a blistering start in the pouring Manchester rain and caught their visitors cold as Robert Sanchez was sent off for taking out Bryan Mbeumo.
A relentless assault resulted in goals from Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, putting United firmly in control as the interval approached. However, the Brazilian stalwart received his marching orders on the stroke of half-time for a second bookable offence.
Enzo Maresca’s men pulled one back late on through a Trevoh Chalobah header, but they couldn’t find an equaliser as the hosts held firm to claim a massive win.
But was this a flash in the pan, or was there enough on show to supply optimism for the United faithful?
Manchester United players deliver for their leader
Amorim asked for more aggression from his team last week, and his men responded emphatically. The Londoners looked totally shell-shocked as they desperately tried to recover from losing Sanchez so early in the game.
The away side eventually succumbed as Fernandes netted to give his team the lead and register his 100th goal in United’s colours on what was also his 200th Premier League appearance.
Truthfully, the Red Devils looked far more aggressive this weekend and started on the front foot even before the early red card, applying pressure immediately.
Mbeumo buzzed around in a typical energetic fashion, whilst Benjamin Sesko and Amad pressed hard to win the ball back as United sought to pin their visitors back from the outset.
Inevitably, relentless hard work paid dividends for the hosts, especially with their numerical advantage. If the game had ended at half-time, then United would have been more than deserving victors.
Amorim’s men need to back this result up with more of the same
As relieved as he will be to have claimed maximum points on Saturday, Amorim will know all too well he must do something that has proved elusive during his reign so far: register back-to-back league wins.
The Portuguese tactician was happy with his side’s performance and win against the Stamford Bridge outfit, but knows the importance of cultivating a winning run.
“Now it’s time to create a bit of momentum,” Amorim declared during his post-match comments.
“We started the game really well, really aggressive. I cannot remember a very good play from us, but we pushed our opponent in how aggressive we were in the first and second balls.
“We cannot have someone sent off near half-time in Casemiro, we like to complicate all our games! But it was a good game. I felt the urgency, especially in the beginning of the game. The sending off helped us.
“If you remember the first half, we had so many opportunities three against one, three against two. We have to be more clinical to finish the game sooner. With the sending off of Casemiro, you never know what is going to happen, so we have to take the chance to kill the game.”
Winnable games coming up before the acid test in October
The 20-time English champions have some winnable-looking fixtures over the next couple of weeks, on paper at least. They face a trip to a significantly weakened Brentford side, before taking on newly promoted Sunderland at Old Trafford.
Make no mistake, neither outing is going to be straightforward.
Still, if Amorim is to really kick on and get his tenure in M16 moving in the right direction, then he will have to start winning consecutive games one way or another, and this seems like an excellent opportunity to do just that.
United will square off against their arch-rivals Liverpool at Anfield after the October international break, in what will be a massive test of their credentials under the former Sporting manager.
Naturally, they will be anxious to take maximum points before then, and a wounded supporter base is craving consistency.
The Reds looked assertive and hungry against the Pensioners on Saturday evening, and they will need to match that sort of intensity consistently if they are to improve under Amorim drastically.
Let’s hope we have reached a turning point.
What did you make of a crucial Manchester United victory against Chelsea at the weekend? Let us know in the comments or across our social channels.
Photo by operations@newsimages.co.uk via depositphotos.com
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