Man United team-mates Hojlund and Amad Diallo involved in furious on-pitch row

Man United boss Ruben Amorim played down the on-pitch row between teammates Rasmus Hojlund and Amad Diallo on Thursday evening.

After defeats to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest were made worse by the shock departure of sporting director Dan Ashworth, the Red Devils lifted the mood on Thursday with a 2-1 Europa League comeback win against Viktoria Plzen.

Andre Onana's mistake allowed ex-Burnley striker Matej Vydra to put the hosts ahead early in the second half, but United substitute Hojlund quickly leveled before firing home two minutes from time to mark Amorim's first away win as United boss to secure.

But the two-goal match winner's overriding emotion at full-time was frustration at being denied the chance to score a hat-trick in stoppage time when Diallo opted to go alone rather than cross.

At another break moments later, Hojlund opted not to go forward, leading to an altercation at the final whistle as the two teams prepared to go through the tunnel.

Even though emotions were running high, the recently appointed Amorim took it positively and said, “Yes (I knew that), and for me it's perfect.

“You know, right now we need to feel something. When we have to fight each other, it's like a family. For me it's a very, very good sign. We have to feel something and that's important.'

When you say it to the Portuguese it shows that the players care about them, he said: “That's clear.

“If you don't care, you don't do anything. If you care, you fight with your brother, with your father, with your mother. For me it is a very good sign.

'It's normal. I think it's something positive, something healthy, so I let the players and the captain calm things down.

'If I see it's too much, I go to the dressing room. But it is their space, they have to talk, fight and again, for me it is very important.'

Thursday's win took United a big step towards the knockout stages of the Europa League and increased their chances of finishing in the top eight, meaning they would bypass the play-off round.

It was a welcome boost ahead of Sunday's trip to stumbling rivals Manchester City and another step forward as Amorim looks to build a side in his image.

“At this moment, in this context, the way we give a goal to the opponent, it was important not to give up,” he said.

'That's a great message. It wasn't a great game, but we managed to do these good things, which is good when you're building a team and I think we deserved the win.

'I'm happy that we win the match and still fight with each other. That's a very good thing.

“If you win and fight with your teammate because you want to score one more, then for me it's a really good day for us.”

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