Ruben Amorim maintained his unbeaten start as Manchester United boss with a win over Everton, but was left wanting more from his players.
Manchester United thumped Everton in a 4-0 win on Sunday but Ruben Amorim said the performance was “up and down like a rollercoaster”.
Amorim claimed his first Premier League win in charge of the Red Devils, with braces from Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee sealing a comfortable result.
The win over Everton also saw Amorim earn the biggest margin of victory for a permanent manager in their first home match in the competition for the club.
However, the Portuguese boss was left wanting more from his players at full-time, having managed an expected goals (xG) of 0.73 from their 11 shots, compared to Everton’s 0.65 with their eight efforts.
“The result was good but we were pragmatic. It was not pretty but we were pragmatic. We did our job, which is to win,” Amorim said.
“You can feel that we have a long way to go. You can feel that in the first few minutes, when we were OK, but then Everton controlled the game. Then we got the goals in the right moment and that changed the game.
“You can’t just focus on the result, you have to focus on the way the result appeared. Like before the game, we have so much to do, but it is better to work with victories. Let’s focus on the performance more than the result.
“You can feel it during the game. It isn’t a line of top performances, it is a rollercoaster of performances.
“We have some moments when we are good, but then we have moments when we have to suffer. We did it again, like in the Europa League. We need time to train and improve. It is better to work with victories.”
For Everton, they have now failed to score a goal in each of their last four Premier League matches, with their last goal coming on October 26th (v Fulham).
The Toffees last had a longer run without a goal in the competition between August and October 2005 (six games).
It was also the fifth time Everton have lost a Premier League match by a margin of four goals or more under manager Sean Dyche, with the Toffees only losing more such matches under David Moyes (seven).
The Everton boss lamented his side’s individual mistakes at Old Trafford, insisting it must improve ahead of facing fellow strugglers Wolves on Wednesday.
“Early in the season there were too many mistakes and that was the same today. In the first 32 minutes I thought we looked a good outfit, we looked progressive,” Dyche started.
“We played well and opened them up. One mistake led to another mistake, and before you know it you’re 2-0 down and then a third one straight after kick-off and that is my biggest gripe”.
“It goes to show if you don’t stay tuned in all the time it doesn’t work for you and that was the case today.
“We’ve eradicated some mistakes from the start of the season. It is very difficult when you make such glaring individual mistakes. It is a very difficult task.
“This has to get parked quickly. I don’t expect our team to make so many mistakes again. They are well versed in this scenario, it has been here for three or four years at this club.
“We are trying to break this pattern of work for a breakthrough, drop down, breakthrough, drop down. That is the next challenge by reacting in the next game. Every game is a big game, it is true for Everton.”