Ruben Amorim revealed his pride at Patrick Dorgu’s act of sportsmanship after telling the referee not to award Manchester United a penalty while their Europa League tie against Real Sociedad was in the balance.
United’s £25 million January signing from Lecce was brought down in the area by Hamari Traore, although the Real Sociedad defender won the ball with his tackle. Referee Benoît Bastien pointed to the spot with the last-16 tie poised at 3-2 but Dorgu was captured telling the French official “stop, it’s not a penalty” and gesturing to cancel his decision.
Bruno Fernandes then completed a hat-trick and Diogo Dalot also scored as United won 4-1 on the evening after falling behind to Mikel Oyarzabal’s penalty. Dorgu had earlier won a penalty and was fouled when Jon Aramburu was given a straight red card.
“It is the right thing to do so I am quite proud of him but I cannot say if it is 0-0 or we are losing that I’d have the same response,” said Amorim. “He did well, he had a great performance. He is learning a lot in that position. He has the physicality. It was a good game and a good action from Dorgu.”
Dorgu, 20, had his most productive match since his arrival from Italy, although Bruno was United’s match-winner after scoring two penalties and sealing his treble with an angled finish. It means the Portugal midfielder is three ties away from lifting the Europa League trophy in Bilbao.
“At this club it’s all about winning,” Bruno said. “We want to perform the best we can but it is all about winning. We want to win games and in this competition there is no other option - we are in or out, that is what it is. We have a long way to go still but we are confident if we focus with the right mentality we can win games.”
Bruno has been in the firing line among ex-United players working as pundits, with Roy Keane questioning his leadership - although he has led by exampled with his goals crucial to keeping United’s season alive.
“We know that sometimes he is frustrated. We know he wants to win so bad so when things are not going well, he is changing position going after the ball,” said Amorim. “Sometimes he needs to trust his team-mate but when we need it, he is always there. He can bring the ball forward, he can score goals, he can defend. It is a perfect captain for our team and we need to help him win titles.”
In the week where co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe announced plans to build a new stadium, Amorim was happy to get back to the focus being on the pitch and seeing his team improve with a win that sets up a quarter-final against French club Lyon.
“You can feel the fans, the noise, it is hard to explain - you feel the confidence from the supporters, it was a really good night,” he said. “They give us energy and confidence and we we feel we can go to the next stage. This game was really good for everybody in the club
“The feeling is completely different, not just the result but the way we play. “During the week that we showed that we are ready for this kind of games, our exhibition against Arsenal was not beautiful but helped us to believe and I felt the team was full of confidence. We suffered an early goal but continued to perform. Since the first minute we continued to believe we can go to the next stage.”
The game also saw Casemiro applauded off by fans after a strong display in midfield from a player who has previously been tipped to leave Old Trafford.
“I think he is improving his game and I am improving the way I should use a player like Casemiro,” Amorim said. “I am not trying to have him pressing really high. He is so smart and intelligent, reading the game in short spaces, he can understand where the ball is going. It is everything together.”
