Ruben Amorim has told beleaguered Manchester United fans to take comfort from Premier League history as they seek to close the gap on champions-in-waiting Liverpool.
On the same day Liverpool were aiming to draw level with United on 20 top-flight titles by beating Tottenham, United required a 96th-minute equaliser from Rasmus Højlund to secure a 1-1 draw at 10-man Bournemouth, which moved them up into 14th place.
Antoine Semenyo’s 27th-minute opener gave Bournemouth a deserved lead but Evanilson’s 70th-minute dismissal for a late challenge on Noussair Mazraoui — upgraded from a yellow card on VAR review — handed United a numerical advantage they eventually capitalised on.
Liverpool have more than doubled United’s points tally this season and Amorim is under pressure to return the club to former glories, including winning eight of the first 11 titles in the Premier League era.
Speaking about the gap to Liverpool as a nearby television screen showed the Liverpool and Tottenham players walking out at Anfield, Amorim said: “The first thing is to focus on ourselves and not the other teams. The next thing is to be really honest: we are at different levels at this moment.
“But then explain that everything can change and I remember when I started seeing the Premier League, it was the opposite. So everything can change. We need to focus on step by step, not trying to think too far ahead.
“We have an ultimate goal: that is winning the Premier League. Again, I am not crazy. I know that is not going to be next year but we are trying to build something. The small things are really important and we did that during this year.
“We need to improve next year. But I know that is important to the fans — we know that — but we need to be honest with them and to work hard every day.”
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