Ruben Amorim lauded the resilience of Manchester United's match-winners Altay Bayindir and Joshua Zirkzee after their tense FA Cup victory over Arsenal.
Ruben Amorim praised the resilience of Manchester United match-winners Altay Bayindir and Joshua Zirkzee following their tense FA Cup triumph against Arsenal. Martin Odegaard's 72nd-minute penalty was saved by Bayindir, and the backup goalkeeper thwarted Kai Havertz in the penalty shootout. Zirkzee stepped up to score United's winning spot-kick in a 5-3 shootout victory.
Zirkzee was jeered by thousands of United fans after his 33rd-minute substitution in the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle at Old Trafford 13 days ago. Bayindir's recall was dreaded by many United supporters after his costly performance in the 4-3 League Cup quarter-final defeat to Tottenham last month. 'It's really important not just for them but for all the players,' Amorim said. 'Your life as a footballer has cycles and moments and sometimes in one week your life can change. 'You can see with Altay. Against Tottenham, everyone was pointing the finger at Altay and I understand that, today he was our hero. It was really important because it gave us more strength and with one less player it’s really hard to press. A team like Arsenal with 11 players - imagine with ten players. 'And if you are in disadvantage it’s really hard, because they can control the ball, they were already controlling the ball in a lot of moments so it was vital to draw the game. 'Joshua a couple of weeks ago, he had a small problem with our fans and today every time he goes on the pitch you feel the support from the fans and then he has the last penalty. Life is like that. You have to continue, be humble, work every day. It’s not just important for them but for their teammates.' United progressed to the fourth round despite playing with ten men for an hour of the 120 minutes after Diogo Dalot was sent off for an overzealous tackle. United led through Bruno Fernandes in the 52nd minute but Gabriel Magalhaes levelled three minutes after Dalot's expulsion on the hour. Amorim made all five substitutions and United ended extra time with Lisandro Martinez up front and midfielder Toby Collyer on the wing. United lost 2-0 at Arsenal in the Premier League just under five weeks ago but Amorim was convinced at kick-off United would prevail in the cup tie. 'I think we play, especially in the first half, better than in the first game,' he said in reference to the defeat in December. 'We were better in set pieces today, more aggressive. We showed a different spirit, even with ten men, we are improving in that aspect. 'We had a lot of difficulties in the beginning of the game to control the game with the ball and then we suffer not big opportunities but we suffer running after the ball. It was really hard to win the ball and especially to switch of play, to change to win the first pressure of Arsenal. 'But then we can take in this moment the game to a different level when we talk about aggression and that is a very good thing. We managed to score and then I felt in that moment we were able to improve with the ball. 'But with the sending off, it was really hard on us and then we suffer all together defending really well with some opportunities for Arsenal. The players were really tired. 'But I felt since the first minute that today was our day and I also felt a connection with our fans and our staff. It was a very good day for us in that aspect.
FA CUP BAYINDIR ZIRK ZEE AMORIM UNITED
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