Manchester United’s manager Ruben Amorim expressed satisfaction with his team’s overall performance against Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup on Thursday, despite losing a closely contested seven-goal thriller in North London, Soccernet.football reports.
Tottenham struck early through Dominik Solanke’s rebound before Kulusevski and Solanke extended Spurs’ lead to 3-0 by the 54th minute. United fought back with goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo after Fraser Forster’s errors, but Son Heung-Min’s curling corner sealed a dramatic 4-3 win for Spurs, despite Johnny Evans’ late consolation header.
Amorim watched his team fall 3-0 behind shortly after the restart but praised the United players for their fighting spirit as they stayed in the game and clawed their way back.
“We (disconnected) in the beginning of the second half, it was a tough moment for us, like 10 minutes. And then we (returned), I think we did a great job,” Amorim told Sky Sports.
“I think if you look at all the game, I think we were the best team but they were more clinical. We (lost) the game but the fight from the lads was really important for me.
“Overall, it was a good match but there’s no taste in that. We didn’t win, we need to focus on the next game.”
Amorim acknowledged that his relatively new squad still requires significant work but highlighted signs of improvement and reaffirmed United’s long-term goal of winning the Premier League.
“We’re improving as a team… our goal is to win the Premier League. How long it’s going to take? I don’t know but that is our goal,” he added.
Man United will be looking to return to winning ways when they host Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday, December 22.