Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has a little breathing space after the victory against Sunderland.
After the loss against Brentford, Manchester United fans were growing increasingly restless. A home win over Sunderland was absolutely essential.
Ruben Amorim’s side produced a calm, composed performance to beat Sunderland 2-0, and the margin of victory probably should have been even more.
The victory moved United back into the top half of the Premier League table, and for now, there is no reason for any panic decisions from the board.
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Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty ImagesManchester United performance praised
Manchester United’s poor results have made the club a punching bag for press and pundits over the past few weeks, irrespective of the performances.
ESPN FC’s Steve Nicol rarely holds back with his criticism, but after Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Sunderland, he only had positive words to say.
Nicol said: “I bet you, Amorim wishes every Saturday could be like this. I can’t remember the last time we watched Manchester United, home or away, where there wasn’t at some stage, some sort of drama, whether it’s giving a lead away, or whether it’s a comeback or or whether it’s just rubbish.
“I mean, for the first time ever I can remember in recent memory, there’s nothing to say about this Man United side. It was comfortable.
“As soon as Mount scored, they never looked in any danger.”
Nicol also praised the performance of debutant goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who impressed Manchester United fans with his performance.
He said: “I know it’s tough to call it on this game, but a couple of times Lammens came for crosses, he just looked as though he’d been there all his life.
“It’s how it should be for a Manchester United team playing Old Trafford against a team like Sunderland. Job done. No panic, no drama. Move along to the next.”
Exactly what Ruben Amorim needed
Ruben Amorim was under pressure heading into this fixture, with two win from six games. The victory means United have three wins from seven, plus one draw, a very average 10 points.
Very average is something to build on, after the distinctly ‘below average’ results from the team last season.
Last season’s poor results are being used to discredit Amorim’s results this season, but if you can separate the two, there is something to cling onto, that there is a level of improvement.
Getting a steady, comfortable win against Sunderland is the type of result we expect, and the kind of result we hoped we would see lots of after the stirring performance in the opener against Arsenal, that ended in a 1-0 loss.
The hope then was that if United reproduced that level of performance across the season, we would pick up plenty of wins.
The consistency has not been there yet, but there is a bit of a platform to build from.