The Manchester Derby looms large as City host United in what is a bit of a strange one considering the difficult predicaments of both sides.
The two clubs that have dominated the Premier League are seriously struggling for form and ahead of what is always a big game, Ruben Amorim gave his thoughts on what will be his first Manchester Derby and second meeting with Pep Guardiola so soon after hammering him 4-1 in the Champions League with his former club Sporting Lisbon.
Talking about the noisy neighbors, Amorim said "no" on whether it's a good time to play them given their poor form. He says that he is more focused on his own side and the issues they face.
There was a lot of speculation about Amorim's future and how he looked like the number one candidate to replace Pep Guardiola at City at the end of the season. On this, the now United boss says that he "never had conversations" about the possibility of going to City. "This [Man Utd] was my only option. When Manchester United talked to me, I have no doubts because I had already something in my mind that it could be a possibility."
While Amorim did beat City 4-1 not so long ago, he feels that with great teams, they "can respond at any moment." He talks about how City are in a better place than United in terms of their understanding of the game and style of play.
In terms of derbies, of which Amorim has been a part of some great ones back in Portugal, he said that he is focused on improving the team ahead of Sunday. The Portuguese says that he "cannot live it like a normal derby, two great teams fighting for the title." As the two clubs are struggling, Amorim believes that it doesn't have that proper derby feel, at least from his perspective.
Andre Onana was involved with another howler against Plzen after he messed up in the loss to Forest. Amorim was asked whether he has any concerns about his goalkeeper's form.
He replied that with Onana, he's already faced situations like these in the past and that it is something to work on. Building up from the back is something that he wants to implement into his team and specifically with Onana. However, on this occasion, "we have a disconnect a little bit during the play and we suffered a goal." He added that at least this time, his players were able to turn things around unlike against Forest. "We managed to help Onana, like he did in the past for us."
The United number 1 also won the Premier League's save of the month for his outstanding stop against Ipswich in Amorim's first game in charge. This comes after he won the same award for his double save back in Septmber.
This means Onana has now won three save of the months awards which is the most won by any goalkeeper since the award was created in 22/23.
A further confidence boost for the Cameroonian and a reminder of just how important he has been for United, something that his manager was quick to point out.
Final Thoughts
I like the fact that Amorim is looking at this as just another game. It's still early days into his time at United and we can see that it will take a while to properly get his message across to the players.
This is why he's saying that he is fully focused on United and our issues rather than look at the opponent and theirs. Yes City aren't great right now but they are still better than us. Even with their poor form, with how we played in the last couple of matches, they will beat us. So I like that he is just concentrated on United and as we saw, there are plenty of problems to try and improve.
I also love that he said that United was his only option. It's great when you hear things like that but I honestly thought he was nailed on to go to City once the season ends. Pep was supposed to call it a day at the Emptihad and many thought it would be Amorim to replace him. They even got Sporting's Sporting Director Hugo Viana to take over from Txiki Begiristain which increased the likelihood that Amorim will follow Viana to City.
That obviously didn't happen. Thank goodness. Imagine Amorim coachinf City 😳.
He must love United, or they must have given him a better deal. I cannot understand why a manager would come to us over City. We are in turmoil from top to bottom and have players who look like they can't be arsed whereas at City, they run pretty smoothly and have a side primed and ready to go for another title charge.
I don't know. Maybe Amorim wanted the challenge at United? Maybe he didn't want to risk being relegated with City because of the charges if they are found guilty?
Whatever the case is, I'm glad he's with us because I believe there is a good coach in him.
I am not wholly convinved by Onana. I never have been. His time at the club started poorly as he almost singlehandedly knocked us out of the Champions League with all his mistakes. This season, he then improved (not like that was difficult) and was one of our players of the season until this point.
But in the last two matches, it showed that old habits die hard. Those errors came out of nowhere and just brought back all those feelings of doubt that everyone had with Onana from last season. I thought that most of that had gone thanks to his form this season. I guess there's still a way to go with that.
I understand that playing out from the back is part of modern football and is something that everyone does. I understand that risks will be taken and we will see things like what we've seen in the last two games. However, at times, just blast it up the field or even for a throw in. Sometimes, just go old school instead of trying to be too clever and put your team on the back foot. It brings unnecessary pressure and can lead to what happened last night.
You know that in the derby, City will be putting him under pressure.
But I did like how Amorim said that the team helped bail Onana out last night just as he did on multiple occasions this season for the rest of the team. This will give the goalkeeper more confidence heading into the derby.
Background Image: Ruben Amorim and Pep Guardiola in the Champions League match between Sporting Lisbon and Man City | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal