Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim admitted his players had been guilty of overthinking after his first match in charge ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town.
The Portuguese coach’s tenure got off to the perfect start when Marcus Rashford put United ahead at Portman Road after less than 90 seconds.
But Omari Hutchinson equalised with a deflected shot and the size of Amorim’s task was illustrated by goalkeeper Andre Onana saving United on several occasions.
“It’s a tough league, that’s what you learn in the first moment,” said the former Sporting Lisbon manager.
“I think my players were thinking too much in the game. We lost some balls without pressure. When you start a game like this you have to control the ball. But they tried.
“I know for some guys it is hard but they want this. Sometimes they don’t know how to get it, but they want it. We will need a lot of time to work these things out.”
Amorim added: “In the first half we were a little bit afraid. We had two days [training together] so they are confused a little bit. First they have to understand the game, then we have to be so much better physically.”
A draw left United 12th in the Premier League, seven points ahead of Ipswich in the relegation zone and six points off the top four.
Liverpool go eight points clear at top
Liverpool extended their lead at the top to eight points with victory at Southampton, as they took advantage of Manchester City’s loss at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
But they had to come from behind at the league’s bottom team and needed a late penalty from Mohamed Salah, his second goal of the game, to complete the comeback.
Liverpool had scored first, through Dominik Szoboszlai, but Adam Armstrong followed up after his penalty was saved and Mateus Fernandes put Saints ahead before the visitors rallied.
“We’re really happy, especially because after an hour we were 2-1 down and maybe that wasn’t a reflection of how the first hour went,” said manager Arne Slot.
“We know what we have to put in to get the lead we have at the moment. There have been one or two that were by a big margin but the rest were small margins, so we know how difficult it is to win a game.”
Liverpool host struggling champions Manchester City, who sit second, in a top-of-the-table showdown next Sunday.