Bruno Fernandes rescued Manchester United with a 97th-minute penalty to break Burnley’s hearts at Old Trafford, but once again Ruben Amorim couldn’t bring himself to watch.
Amorim hid in the dugout when United lost a marathon shootout in the Carabao Cup at Grimsby Town in midweek, and the Portuguese coach looked away as Fernandes made amends for missing from the spot at Fulham last weekend by converting to snatch a dramatic 3-2 win.
Amorim, who instead gazed towards the Stretford End, said: ‘I like to see the image of the fans. What has to be has to be. In that moment, I was thinking it would be fair to win the game – and I did not think Bruno would miss a second in a row.’
Burnley boss Scott Parker was angry that referee Sam Barrott was sent to the monitor after VAR official Stuart Attwell spotted Jaidon Anthony tugging Amad Diallo’s shirt inside the box.
‘I’m gutted for the fans and I’m gutted for the players because the game gets decided on a last-minute VAR call that obviously makes us not get the point that I felt we deserved,’ said Parker.
‘The ref doesn’t give it, the linesman don’t give it, he’s 10 metres away. The guy 100 miles away has decided that it’s a clear and obvious error from the ref, and then obviously it’s a penalty.
Bruno Fernandes sealed a late victory for Manchester United against Burnley from the penalty spot
But once again Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim couldn’t watch after he hid in his dugout on Wednesday at Grimsby Town
Amorim explained post-match that he likes ‘to see the image of the fans’ rather than watch the ball hit the back of the net
‘I think Diallo played it really well, don’t get me wrong. The pull was there and that happened before it. But I felt that Jaidon got a tug early from Diallo that then gives him a yard to get in front of him.’
United suffered a setback when new £62.5million signing Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount suffered injuries in the first half.
‘We will check on them,’ said Amorim. ‘We need them really badly to be competitive.
‘Sometimes it’s hard to understand how we miss so many opportunities. We had so many chances to score more goals and control more of the game, especially in the first half. But we are fighting to the last minute because of things we overcomplicate.’
Amorim was under scrutiny after appearing to cast doubt over his future at United in the wake of the Grimsby debacle.
He added: ‘I know sometimes it’s me that starts that. I’m really emotional. But when you look at the context what we lived in the past months, you can understand.
‘I want to be in a different way during the weeks, and for that you need to win. So today was a must-win and we won. Let’s move on.’
The United boss also spoke about the injuries suffered by Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount during the victory at Old Trafford.
Cunha was forced off in the first-half after clutching his hamstring before Mount had to be withdrawn at the interval.
Amorim told Sky Sports: ‘It was hard to lose Cunha and Mason Mount, because Mason Mount played 30 minutes with an injury. I’m concerned about that, because they are so important for us. We will see.’
