Match report and talking points as pressure mounts for Ruben Amorim
Manchester United were beaten 3-0 by Bournemouth at Old Trafford in the Premier League for the second consecutive season on Sunday afternoon.
The Red Devils had fallen behind in their previous home game and suffered the same fate in the 29th minute when Dean Huijsen headed in a free-kick, with the home side unable to find an equalizer before break as Bruno Fernandes wasted a trio of chances.
Justin Kluivert compounded United’s misery with an hour played as he won and slotted home a penalty before Antoine Semenyo provided a shock third just two minutes later after a powerful move.
The home side piled on the pressure in the closing stages as they looked for some consolation, but Bournemouth kept a clean sheet as the Red Devils drew clean.
How the game developed
Amad Diallo was the winner of the Manchester derby last weekend and was presented with the first opening of United’s Sunday contest. The ball fell kindly to the diminutive Ivorian 12 meters out, but he couldn’t beat Kepa Arrizabalaga with his whipped effort. The way he is, he should have done better.
Bournemouth they pulled off an impressive win in this game last season and showed early, and ultimately correct, ambitions to repeat that feat at Old Trafford. Their bright start was rewarded just before the half hour when they took the lead, Huijsen’s header heaping more misery on Ruben Amorim’s side from set pieces.
united had looked alarmingly toothless for much of the first half, but they burst into life on the cusp of the half-time whistle. Three promising chances came to their skipper, with Fernandes warming Kepa’s gloves between two wayward efforts.
Amorim made three changes shortly after the break in an attempt to turn the tide, but soon found his side two goals down when it came to scoring. Noussair Mazraoui’s late lunge on Kluivert gave Bournemouth a penalty, and the Dutch forward made no mistake from the resulting spot-kick.
It took just two minutes for Bournemouth to pull off a third shock at Old Trafford as United’s abject defense crumbled. An excellent move down Bournemouth’s left resulted in Dango Ouatarra picking out Semenyo in the box, and the Ghanaian produced a composed finish to put the Cherries in dreamland.
Substitute Alejandro Garnacho should have provided an immediate response when he was sent through on goal, but the winger’s domestic effort was comfortably denied by Kepa to keep Bournemouth’s lead intact.
United saw a number of chances come and go in the final 20 minutes but struggled to work Kepa, with Bournemouth continuing to pose a major threat at the break. In the end, the hosts could not muster any late drama, falling to the worst defeat of Amorim’s reign so far.
Check Man Utd vs Bournemouth player ratings here.
Amorim’s start to life at Old Trafford has been mixed, and that’s if you’re optimistic. The Portuguese has yet to transform the Red Devils, who have been similarly lethargic and unconvincing since the departure of Erik ten Hag.
Sunday was clearly the worst defeat of Amorim’s tenure so far as Bournemouth outplayed and outplayed his side. The Cherries were better in every aspect, all over the pitch. United simply couldn’t manage their intensity, nor could they consistently break down what is hardly an impenetrable defence.
Amorim promised to bring new ideas and an exciting philosophy to Old Trafford, but the home faithful have yet to see significant evidence of the major changes. There is always pressure on the manager of one of the biggest clubs in the world and he will have to answer his critics over the festive period.
Rightly so, Amorim will have plenty of time to make the necessary improvements in Manchester, but results and, arguably most importantly, performances will need to improve in the near future.
Andoni Iraola’s cherries are recognized for their high intensity pressure. This tenacity and relentlessness is what allowed Bournemouth to taste such a convincing victory at Old Trafford in the Premier League last season
However, United failed to learn from last season’s humiliating defeat. The Red Devils were pressed and pressed from the first whistle, with the visitors playing with remarkable energy all over the pitch. Whether deep in United territory or in the center circle, Bournemouth were always chasing the red shirts.
United struggled to play with such a well-organised press and repeatedly conceded possession, often in key defensive areas. They finished with 23 shots but were well beaten, outplayed by Bournemouth in almost every defensive metric.
It was a crushing defeat for Amorim’s side, who are still miles from where they need to be in and out of possession to compete with their new Portuguese manager. If you learn more in defeat than in victory, then Amorim has thoroughly educated himself over the past few weeks.
United’s struggles from set pieces have been well documented this term and their organizational problems were exposed once again against the Cherries. It was unsurprising with a set piece that Bournemouth took the lead and the ease with which they penetrated the Red Devils is very worrying.
The award of the free-kick was called into question when Tyrell Malacia brought down Adam Smith down the United left, but the defense behind them was not good enough. Huijsen, who also scored from a set piece against Tottenham Hotspur recently, got rid of Joshua Zirkzee too easily at the near post before producing a header.
After Bournemouth scored from the penalty spot in the second half, United have conceded 45% of their Premier League goals from set pieces this season, the highest proportion of any team in the division by some considerable distance .
One of Amorim’s New Year’s resolutions must be to improve his team’s defensive organization at set pieces.
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