Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim says captain Bruno Fernandes was ‘tired’ during his side’s defeat to Arsenal.
Amorim tasted defeat for the first time as United boss when his side lost 2-0 to the Gunners at the Emirates on Wednesday.
United were defensively sound during the first half but the Gunners punished them twice from corners after the break, with goals from Jurrien Timber and Wiliam Saliba.
The Red Devils struggled to craft chances of their own, with Matthijs De Ligt having their best opportunity when his header was saved by David Raya.
The ball in came from Bruno Fernandes, who was playing in a deeper central midfield position.
Fernandes has started all four of Amorim’s matches in charge.
And the former Sporting boss admits Fernandes was struggling physically during the game at the Emirates.
‘You have to understand what kind of players you have. For example Bruno Fernandes, he was a little bit tired in the end against Arsenal but you know that he is going to recover very well,’ said Amorim.
‘If you think about Manuel Ugarte, I’ve known him for so long and I know he needs a little bit more time.
‘We are in that process of knowing the players and we are managing that. We are getting closer to an idea, yes.”
United have won two, drawn one and lose one of their four matches under Amorim.
The Portuguese coach says his team are in the first phase of a rebuild and need to focus on the basics of getting back to winning ways.
‘We also have to understand our supporters; in just two weeks and four matches, they just want to see effort,’ said Amorim.
‘Then they want to see us win games. After a while with effort and winning games, they will want to see a dominant team.
‘These are the phases that we have to follow. This one is the easy one, effort. Full sprint back, full sprint forward. Our focus is a lot on that.’
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