Ruben Amorim says Amad's return to the fray for Manchester United is 'massive', as he offers a point of difference in attack.
The Ivorian was introduced as an 84th-minute substitute in Bilbao and looked lively in his first appearance since early February.
Our no.16 had racked up nine goals and eight assists in all competitions before he suffered an ankle injury that initially threatened to cut his season short.
Ruben admitted the setback had been 'tough' for the wide man but his return and ability to take on defenders provides us with an extra option at a key point in the campaign...
The results in the Europa League and the Premier League have been very, very different. Are the players
able to kind of separate the momentum of those two competitions? Because presumably you're going to have to rest players again on Sunday. It may affect the result, but then you've got to kind of go again on Thursday. Are they able to separate these two competitions?
“In this moment it's hard to separate. We know that we have always a responsibility. But in this moment we have to take a risk, and there are some positions that we don't have more players. For example, Nous Mazraoui cannot play. He's in the limit to get an injury. So we are going to deal with that and prepare a game against a team that they won today and is in a great moment. And we have always a responsibility to perform. We have always a responsibility to offer the result. But in this moment, we have to be clear. Our focus is more on saving players and trying to be competitive. It’s not a good thing to say, but we need to understand the context.”
Just on Amad Diallo obviously he came on for the last 10 minutes tonight. How important do you think he could be for the rest of the season? And what's it been like managing him when he's been injured? Because he obviously wants to be playing and he was in such good form before he got injured?
“Yeah, it was really tough on us because in that moment, he was the player that created all the situations and then pass a little bit for Bruno. So to lose a player like that in that moment with a lot of games was really hard for us and especially for Amad, because he was leaving [us at] a good moment. But now he's returning. You can feel that he's not so explosive in the moment, but he's a player with a characteristic left foot, different from Garnacho, that has one against one. And we don't have many players, to do that. So it's massive for us. And he's one more option to play.”
You brought an expanded squad out ahead of training tomorrow. You've played some of the kids before. Are you planning to heavily rotate? I know you mentioned Noussair there. What's the thought process heading into this?
“The first thing is that the players that are in risk to get injury will not play, no matter what. We need to take a risk in that. And then we are going to assess tomorrow and the next day who are the best players to start the game. Then we have to be careful because we are Manchester United and we cannot go to a game without thinking we can win this game. So the process is going to be like that. It's going to be tough, but we pass so many things this year. It's one more. Let's see.”
Ruben, you said in March that you were learning how to use Casemiro more and more, and you really depended on him in this Europa League run. What have you learned so far using him, and is he someone you hope to work with going forward long-term as well?
“He improved a lot also, you can see [that] not in the way he plays but the way he runs and you can see it. We have the data to show he worked really, really hard. He's a very good example. But he was not playing. Even Toby [Collyer] sometimes was playing in front of him. And now it's hard to take Casemiro [out]. So it's a lesson for all the players in Manchester United: no matter what is the past or the last month, everything can change in one moment. Then we understood that he cannot jump all the time pressing high. We need to let them understand. Sometimes it's better to put three defenders and let him be the fourth defender and put the wing backs pressing high. So these small things we are understanding, trying to cope with all the characteristics of the team. But the credit is for Casemiro.”
“The hardest part is for the players. Some players understand that if you play on Sunday, you can play Thursday. That is the first point. It doesn't matter. Then we have to again show the importance of every game in Manchester United. Then every position that we have in the Premier League you win more money. So that is important. Then you're fighting for your pride. Of course we don't have nothing to fight [for]. We have this second leg [and it’s] really important for us. We know that. But we need to be competitive in every game.”