RUBEN Amorim finally had something to celebrate at the end of a turbulent few days at Manchester United.
He didn’t actually see Bruno Fernandes’ decisive stoppage-time penalty because he wanted to “watch the fans celebrate” as he was convinced his captain would score.
It was one of Amorim’s more rational statements in a week when he seemed to be adopting a scorched earth policy such is the rollercoaster his emotional state has been.
However, when he takes a step back, the last-gasp 3-2 win over Burnley has left him with plenty of puzzles to solve and issues to deal with – and some really are quite pressing.
Amorim gave the game away as he explained the difficulties his side were having in the opening weeks of the new campaign.
“We are in a moment where, with every possession near our box, they can score,” he reflected.
This is clearly not a great situation to be in but one of the reasons for it is that his goalkeepers keep making big mistakes.
On the opening weekend, it was Altay Bayindir’s failure to get clean contact on his attempt to punch Declan Rice’s corner away from danger that led to United losing against Arsenal.
In midweek, United were already behind when Andre Onana failed to get a Grimsby corner away from his six-yard box, which led to a second goal for the hosts as the Old Trafford outfit slithered to their first defeat by a fourth-tier team.
Bayindir returned against Burnley, and duly failed to gather Loum Tchaouna’s second-half shot, allowing the ball to roll to Jaidon Anthony, who, thanks to two deflections, made the score 2-2, which is how the game would have ended without Fernandes’ dramatic intervention.
“I think it is hard to be a Manchester United goalkeeper in this moment,” said Amorim.
“They are humans. At Manchester United, everything is in the news.
“Everybody talks about the goalkeeper. I can change the goalkeeper and situations happen. We are in that moment.
“The players are struggling a little bit with all the things around the club. That is normal. It’s not just the goalkeepers. I think everybody has to improve.”
That is fair. Yet it is also clear if the goalkeepers continue to make mistakes it will have a significant negative impact.
It is surely one of the reasons why United have been talking to Royal Antwerp about their goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who was once again left out of his side’s Belgian Pro-League game this afternoon with transfer rumours circling.
Galatasaray have been linked with Lammens and United’s keepers, and with the Turkish deadline not closing until 12 September we might have to wait a little while for the goalkeeping situation at Old Trafford to become completely clear.
Lammens wants to join United. Nothing that happened at Old Trafford against Burnley makes his arrival by Monday’s 19:00 BST transfer deadline less likely.