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Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has insisted that his players must help Bruno Fernandes win trophies, as the skipper produced another brilliant display to send his side to the quarter-finals of the Europa League as they eased past Real Sociedad.
United beat Sociedad 4-1 on Thursday evening and 5-2 on aggregate, to advance to the last eight of the competition.
The hosts fell behind just 10 minutes into proceedings after Mikel Oyarzabal converted from the spot-kick. However, their lead didn’t last for too long as Fernandes calmly rolled in two penalties and struck a superb third to secure the victory.
Diogo Dalot wrapped up the win with a brilliant finish from 15 yards after Rasmus Hojlund picked him out inside the box.
United remain the only unbeaten team in Europe this season and in the process, have kept hopes of somewhat saving their troubled season alive.
In his post-match press conference, Amorim hailed Fernandes, branding him the “perfect captain.”
Amorim told reporters, “We already spoke about Bruno a lot of times. We know sometimes he’s frustrated, we know he wants to win so badly that sometimes when we are not playing well he’s changing position and goes after the ball.”
“And sometimes he needs to trust and to allow them to do their job and to help him play better.”
“But when we need it he’s always there…set pieces, he can change position, he can bring the ball forward, he can score goals, he can make transitions like he showed today in the last ten minutes of the game, he can defend.”
“He’s a perfect captain for our team and we need to help him to win titles because he deserves a lot.”
Another player Amorim spoke about was Patrick Dorgu. The 20-year-old was a menace to Sociedad all night, wreaking havoc down the left-hand side.
Dorgu won one penalty for United and had won a second one but in an incredible and rare moment of sportsmanship, went over to the referee and told him he was not fouled. The referee proceeded to reverse his decision.
Amorim said about the January signing, “It’s the right thing to do, so I’m quite proud of him. But I can’t say if it’s 0-0 or losing if I have the same response.”
“He did well, he did a great performance, he was improving during the game, he’s learning a lot in that position, he has the physicality to play in our league, so it was a good game and a good action from Dorgu.”
The United boss added about his side’s display, “I felt during the week that we showed that we are ready for this kind of game. Our exhibition against Arsenal was not beautiful but helped us a lot, that second half helped us to believe and I felt the team was full of confidence.”
“We suffer a goal but continue to play the same thing and since the first minute, we believe we can go to the next stage. But this is also a different competition. The physicality of our team made a great difference in these two games.”
Amorim emphasised that the meeting with Lyon in the quarter-finals will be a completely different game, and the Red Devils must find a way to ease past them.
United are back in action on Sunday when they go away to the King Power Stadium to face Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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