Positives for United boss Amorim despite opening-day 1-0 defeat to Arsenal | OneFootball

Manchester United began their new Premier League campaign with an all-too-familiar defeat to Arsenal, but there were plenty of encouraging signs for the Portuguese manager Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford on Sunday.

A scrappy early goal by Riccardo Calofiori gave the visitors the points and prevented United making a winning start to a campaign in which much improvement is expected after a disastrous 15th-place finish last term. However, the English media has largely praised United for their performance, after Amorim’s side controlled large portions of the encounter and were unlucky not to score.

Indeed, some pundits suggested the difference between the sides was in the goalkeeper position, with United’s Altay Bayindir too weak for Arsenal’s goal, while the Gunners’ David Raya was commanding and pulled off a particularly impressive save from Matheus Cunha. United ended the game with a higher expected goals (1.97-1.13), more shots (22-9) and greater possession (61%) than perennial Premier League runners-up Arsenal.

A notable improvement in United is the physicality of the team. Renowned in recent years for struggling to deal with the speed of play during Premier League matches, Amorim’s side look better prepared to compete. The added precision with which United moved the ball, as well as the bright debuts of Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, also led to more praise from fans and neutrals. There was also some frustration amongst fans online at United not being awarded a late penalty.

“I’m really proud of the guys, I think they were really brave in everything they did during the game,” Amorim told Sky Sports. “Congratulations for the performance, but not congratulations because we lost the game at home. I think we clearly deserved a different result. And we need to move forward to the next one.

More aggressive than last year - Amorim

“We were more aggressive than last year. We sprint more. We were more brave. We went one against one all the game. We pressed high. And then with the ball we had quality. We continued to play our way. We lost fewer balls in the build-up compared to last year. And then players like Cunha and Mbeumo can elevate the stadium. The most important thing: we were not boring.

“The goal? It happened last year. For me it’s not playing the ball, it’s protecting the guys who are attacking. I understand we want goals, but when you’re touching the goalkeeper that way it’s hard. And to lose to a goal like this is hard.

“We need to be stronger, but especially we need to do the same thing to the opponents. We can’t change the rules. Today, that was hard to accept because I think we were the better team.”

Despite the positive showing, United will be under pressure to put their first points on the board next weekend, when they travel to Marco Silva’s Fulham. The Cottagers started their campaign with a solid 1-1 draw at Brighton on Saturday, secured by a last-gasp equaliser by Rodrigo Muniz in the 96th minute.