Ruben Amorim claimed that Manchester United’s sobering draw with Everton in Atlanta will help to manage expectations as the squad head home from their summer tour of the US.
Impressive victories over West Ham and Bournemouth in the Premier League Summer Series had created a buzz around the United camp after the club spent more than £130million on Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.
Although Amorim’s side walked away with the trophy and remain unbeaten in pre-season, he wasn’t disappointed that his team and their fans have been brought back down to earth.
‘I think it’s normal in our club. If you play well, they will say that we play really well,’ he said. ‘We already knew this will not change in two weeks, but we are better.
‘I think it’s the perfect feeling to go back to Carrington. I think the momentum of the tour was perfect. So we had the weeks to work with a good environment, good feeling, and then we go back to Carrington and we are near to start the season. We are going with the feeling that we need to do a lot of things.’
Amorim was happy to learn that his captain Bruno Fernandes had called the team ‘lazy’ in his port-match interview. ‘I think I’m happy for the players to have that feeling,’ added the United boss.
‘It’s saying that they understand the situation, so it’s a good feeling. Tomorrow we are going to travel, then one day off and we return to Carrington to work. Understanding that in this club everything is ups and downs. We understand that, but I prefer that feeling than the other side.’
Mbeumo made his debut after a £71m move from Brentford and played the first half alongside Cunha before he was rested at half-time. The Cameroon international impressed in moments and sent Amad Diallo through when United won a penalty for the first goal.
‘I think he played well,’ added Amorim. ‘He needs to understand the position, the movements. But I think the first touch, the way he connects with one touch, opened a lot of space.
‘You can see that he’s not in the perfect condition physically, but he makes a lot of runs and that can stretch one team. So everything I was expecting, he delivered.’
