Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim was pretty straightforward with his reaction to their draw at bitter rivals Liverpool on Sunday: he was delighted.
It was the first win in 11 for United at Liverpool, with their last victory at their bitter rivals coming in January 2016 under Louis van Gaal.
This win also saw United secure back-to-back Premier League wins under Amorim for the first time, and this overall performance against the reigning champions was a big step forward.
MORE — Recap, video highlights from Liverpool v Manchester United
Amorim’s side had plenty of chances to double the early lead given to them by Bryan Mbeumo, but were also lucky that Liverpool hit the woodwork three times and were wasteful in front of goal before Cody Gakpo’s late equalizer.
But then Harry Maguire headed home to win it late on and send Amorim and everyone connected with United wild.
Here’s the latest Ruben Amorim reaction from Anfield, as we will keep this updated as more quotes and comments come in.
Ruben Amorim reaction
Was that the biggest win of your time as Man United manager?: “Yeah I think so. It doesn’t mean a lot. It means a lot today but tomorrow it isn’t going to mean a lot. It is three points but it is a good victory. I will do the same thing that I did in the last game. Try to see the game. In key points we had some luck but we fought for every ball. We lost our composure a little bit in the second half. But the most important thing is that the spirit is there. That is the beginning of everything. Sometimes you play more with the ball and other days you play without the ball. But if you have the spirit you can win any game.”
What did you like most about it? The spirit?: “Yes, the spirit. And the belief of course we need some moments to score first, saves from our goalkeeper, one shot on the post to start believing we can win any game. You can feel it. Any transition, some moments with the ball the teams start to believe it is possible. It was a good day but now I am concerned about Brighton. I have one year of experience. I will enjoy it. I am not dumb! I have to enjoy this moment but let’s focus on Brighton.”
On decisions to start Maguire and go with a more mobile front three: “It’s the luck of a manager. I was expecting that. It’s nothing new. I get used to that. We just saw the game. We know how important set pieces are. How important the guys who have more experience imagine something that happens in the beginning of the game against us. Harry Maguire has the experience to help guys. And then Konate and Van Dijk they like the confrontation. They like to fight. One of them goes to the ball, the other one makes a second line. But you can sense there is more or less all the transitions was Cunha. Cunha was so far from the center backs it helped us to take the ball.”
On playing on Liverpool’s bad run and trying to make them play impatiently: “Every time you play in this kind of environment if you block well, especially in the beginning, you can feel the fans turning. We feel that in our stadium. All the big teams suffer from that. We tried to do that. I think we have to have more possession to rest our players. They struggled in the end because they are used to having the ball and they spend so much time without the ball they struggle a little bit. But again. Good win. Let’s focus on the next one.”
On if the win would change the story of the season, and even his time in charge of United: “It will give us more confidence through the week. It will give a lot of pleasure to our fans, which they deserve after Grimsby, after Brentford, to have a win like this is really important. But again that is in our hands. This is the past. Let’s focus on the future. It will change if we do the same thing. Playing a little bit better but doing the same spirit, things will change in time.”
Amorim reacts to dramatic win over Liverpool
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim assesses his team’s performance on a historic day at Anfield.
Harry Maguire reaction
On how it feels to win at Liverpool: “It does mean everything. They’ve had the better of us over the last few years. We know that. It has not been good enough for our club and we’ve not given our fans anywhere near enough days like today. It has been a long time coming coming to this ground and picking up three points. It’s the old cliche “it’s only three points” but it’s definitely not. It means a lot more than that to the boys, the club, the fans. I’ve been here seven years now and to come to this ground every time and not get three points has been tough. So it’s for the fans. I hope they have a great night tonight because it’s only three points on the table but to come here and do it over Liverpool, who have been a top team over the years, they’ve been a lot better than us in recent years so it’s nice to get one over them.”
Is it the best place to win for a United player?: “Absolutely. You see a lot in the build up in the week, you see a lot of Juan Mata’s goals and Wayne [Rooney’s] goals here that have won the games for the club, so I’m sure in a few years time they will be looking back at my header. Football is all about memories, creating special memories, and I’m sure all the fans in the stadium will have a memory they won’t forget. We will all go home happy. We won’t get carried away. We know this club is not in a position to get carried away. We need to use this as motivation to reach levels they’ve reached in recent years. That is where this club should be at.”
Maguire: Win over Anfield a ‘long time coming’
Manchester United’s man of the hour Harry Maguire reflects on his side’s statement win against Liverpool at Anfield in Matchweek 8.
Bruno Fernandes reaction
What does it mean to be a winner here at Anfield: “It’s always good to win games. We know what these kind of games mean for our club and fans. Also for ourselves in the moment right now. We needed three points.”
Is it more than three points?: “We know what it means for the fans and for the club to play these kind of rivalries. We want to do it because it’s a long time that the club didn’t win at Anfield. It’s very important and I’m very happy to do it today.”
What was key? How did you do it?: “We knew we had to win our duels in the first 10-15 minutes. We knew that they would try to start the game very, very strong. Also during the first half we understood that they were a little under pressure when they had time on the ball. The fans were putting themselves in a difficult position because they were booing a little bit for them to play a little bit quicker because that’s the way Liverpool likes to play mostly. We wanted also to slow down their game and we knew they would give massive spaces down the middle and we had to enjoy that. On the ball we were very, very good in the first half. I think in the second half we could have played a little bit more on the ball.”
In a positive sense, did your shape give issues to them?: “Our shape always gives issues to teams. It’s obviously it’s ungrateful to talk about shape when we lose games in the same way when we win games. We always believe in the system when we win or lose a game. It’s about doing the right things in the right moments. As I said before we had moments where we suffered and we had to suffer during the game but the main thing was to keep doing the same things, believing what we train and prepare for the game is what is going to give us the win here.”
Back-to-back wins in Premier League for first time — What does that mean for confidence and the mood?: “It’s not going to mean anything if next week we don’t win the game. We need to do it every week because we know the demands of this club is very high. We have to win every game we have ahead. Knowing the situation we were in in the past everyone is worried about this back-to-back wins or whatever. We just have to focus on the next game. Obviously it was massive for us to win here today to get closer in the table, to not be far away from the position we want to finish.”