Ruben Amorim hailed Bruno Fernandes' importance to Manchester United after his superb free-kick led to a comeback point away at Everton.

The Red Devils travelled to Goodison Park looking to relieve the pressure on Amorim following a string of disappointing results. But a meek first half-showing, which Amorim admitted was "soft", saw Everton take a 2-0 lead into half-time thanks to goals from Beto and Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Fernandes' free-kick got United back into the game with just under 20 minutes remaining, and a point was rescued by Manuel Ugarte eight minutes later. It led Amorim to praise the role of his captain, though he was largely critical once more of another tepid United outing.

He's really important, in any position that he plays," Amorim said of Fernandes. "He is the guy that can, sometimes in the hardest moments, hold the ball and that is really important for the team. He is a leader, he scored the first goal and he helped us get a point today.

"We need to win three points and we need to win the whole game," Amorim said of United's display. "The worst part is that we are losing the ball without pressure and we are not doing what we need to do. We were soft.

"We managed to recover second half. But we didn’t exist in the first half, so the feeling is disappointed. Not with the point, not with the recovery, but we need to play both halves to compete in the best way because at this moment we need to win.

On how United can become more consistent, the Portuguese added: "I don't know, if I know, I will change it. Everything we do in the week, we have to do better in the game. In this moment, we need to focus on day by day. We need to survive this season and then we can think ahead. I don't want to just say the negative part. In the second half, we were close to win this game."

United remain 15th in the Premier League table, now level on points with West Ham United after their shock 1-0 win away at Arsenal.

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