Amorim: I'm proud of my players

The 13th minute was unlucky for the Reds, as Bukayo Saka's dangerous corner was palmed towards the back post by Altay Bayindir, allowing Calafiori the simple task of nodding in from on the line.

Bayindir protested he had been impeded but the goal was allowed to stand and there was no way back for the hosts, despite taking the game to last season's Premier League runners-up and pushing hard for an equaliser.

See what Ruben had to say afterwards in his interviews with MUTV and Sky Sports...

THE GOAL

"More or less the same that happened sometimes last year. For me, it's not playing the ball, it's protecting the guys that they are attacking. I understand that we want goals, but when you're touching the goalkeeper in that way, I think it's hard. And especially to lose with a goal like this, I think it's hard. It's hard to be strong when you have to push and to go for the ball. Sometimes you are pushing and then you don't have more hands to go for the ball. We need to be stronger in that moment, but, especially, we need to do the same thing in the opposite side. So, we are not changing the rules. We have to adapt to the rules."

WE WERE NOT BORING

"We were more aggressive than last year. We sprint more. We were more brave. We let one against one all the game. We pressed high. And then with the ball, we have quality. Even when the stadium makes some sounds, we continue to play the way we play. We lost fewer balls in the build-up, compared to last year, was [where] we struggled a lot. And then the small things that we talk about in the beginning of this season, that players like [Matheus] Cunha, like Bryan [Mbeumo], in one moment can elevate the stadium. So, I think the most important thing, we were not boring.”

PROUD OF THE PLAYERS

"It was a very good performance. I'm really proud of the players but, in the end, we lost the game. But again, for me, you can win and you can lose in the end, but I am proud of what they did, my players. It's a good feeling. At the same time, it's really hard to lose a game like this.

TACTICAL IMPROVEMENTS?

"The system is overrated. It's not the system. You saw sometimes we defended with five, with four, with three. Most of the game, it was three against three. So it's more about the intensity our players play at, if they are brave, if they are talented, if they are powerful. We show a little bit more than that. We have a lot to do and have to focus on the next one. I think it's also they understand better the way we have to do it. They are prepared to do it physically and they want to help each other. That is a very good feeling. Sometimes, you can see one guy missing one run or one pass and you feel the team is all together. Let's move on. Every game in the Premier League is hard. Let's move on for the next one."

FORGET THE NOISE

"No, we have players to win any game of the Premier League. We need to focus. Forget about the noise. We are fighting for the places, that is a good thing, but we are playing as a team. Doesn't matter who is playing; we want to win games."

WORK TO DO AHEAD OF FULHAM

"It's really hard to lose that game. Now we have to work tomorrow to recover and then prepare for the next game, work on the small things and the big things. We need to improve."