Ruben Amorim admits that his team at Manchester United should improve their target threat after he has limited a 1-0 win over Fulham in Craven Cottage.
The Red Devils only scored one shot on Doel in a for forgetful Premier League match and even that was thanks to a huge happiness when the deployment of Lisandro Martinez went over Bernd Leno through a deflection of Sasa Lukic.
United had to wait until 41:57 for their first shot in this match, the longest waiting for a goal attempt in a Premier League match this season (also 41:57 against Arsenal in December).
The Red Devils (P18 W10 D8), however, are now one of the only four Premier League teams that have not yet lost a match in all competitions this season if they are 1-0, alongside Liverpool (23), Arsenal (22) and Newcastle. United (15).
United boss Amorim, who turns 40 on Monday, was delighted when he crossed the line with the three points, but accepts that there is work to be done to improve itself in the last third part.
“I think so (that improvement is necessary in the attack), even in the second half, when we wanted to change some things, we missed some speed and strength in the front,” he told TNT Sports.
“But it is what it is, we need more ball to create opportunities and bring the ball to the last third part. We had difficulty with these details, but helping to improve.”
“It is very important to have this feeling outdoors, as always we have great support from our fans. It was not a great game. You feel it, not great opportunities.”
“We have tried to keep the game under control, play our game, but we still have to improve a lot, you can feel that. This time we are achieving the result. It is very important to win now.”
They are three points on their way for the Reds #mufc || #Fulmu
– Manchester United (@manutd) January 26, 2025
Now that the transfer period closes on Monday in a week, there is still the possibility for Premier League clubs to do business.
But Amorim says that United must be careful with compliance with the profit and sustainability rules and also prevent a repeat of expensive transfer errors in the past.
“We must be careful, even with the rules here we know that we have to follow the rules,” he added.
“I think we have made mistakes in the past. We can't do that. We are focused on improving the team. But let's look.”
Fulham performed better than United in terms of Schoten (nine against four) and shot on goal (three against one), while their XG was higher (0.67 against 0.25).
Cottagers defender Calvin Bassey thought that his team was doing well to suppress United's attack, but did not feel that Fulham was doing enough to hurt their opponents.
“I thought we deserved more. We had the game under control, and it wasn't our day,” he said.
“You need a bit of luck in football, and that didn't come to us today. We had many opportunities, perhaps in the final phase. In the end it could have been better.
“They didn't create much that we were bothered. We were aware of their quality. I felt that we didn't create so many clear opportunities.”
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