Manchester United capitulated to Bournemouth in what was a horrific 3-0 defeat at home on Sunday afternoon.
Yet again, Man United’s defence showed its vulnerability from set-pieces, allowing the away side to grab an early lead, which handed them all the momentum from that moment on.
After five minutes of pinball-style football, with the ball flinging rapidly from one side of the field to the other, United got their first scoring opportunity. Amad Diallo pounced on a pass from Kobbie Mainoo, sending a shot toward the bottom left corner that the goalkeeper saved at full stretch.
Nine minutes in, Antoine Semenyo took a speculative shot from distance that Andre Onana saved comfortably.
Four minutes later, Semenyo fouled Lisandro Martinez to hand United a free kick. Fernandes’ cross was easily cut out by the visitors’ defence, however.
29 minutes in, United’s terrible approach to set pieces was exposed yet again. Tyrell Malacia fouled Adam Smith on the touchline, handing the underdogs a free kick. Ryan Christie’s cross found Dean Huijsen, whose header floated into the back of the net while Onana watched on hopelessly. Poor marking again from United’s defence.
Moments after the restart, Onana parried a shot to prevent his side going two goals down. Clearly, United’s defensive struggles have not been resolved.
In the 37th minute, Manuel Ugarte was booked for bringing down Justin Kluivert, who almost broke through United’s defence.
Five minutes from the break, Diogo Dalot played the ball to Bruno Fernandes on the edge of the box, whose shot skidded wide of the upright.
Moments later, Kobbie Mainoo started a rapid counter, passing to Fernandes on the left, whose shot was well saved. Amad Diallo’s corner almost found the back of the net, only for Huijsen to head the ball out. Finally, United began to ask questions of the visitors’ defence.
On the stroke of half-time, Mainoo showed some impressive footwork to dribble past four Bournemouth defenders, only to send his shot wide of the far post. Still, with one minute of stoppage time, United had a bit of time to find an equaliser before the break.
United’s poor defending would have given Ruben Amorim a lot to think about as his team found themselves trailing at half-time yet again. Clearly, there is still a heap of work to do in order to strengthen United’s defence.
When both teams returned to the pitch for the second half, Leny Yoro came on in place for Malacia, signalling Amorim’s intent to already affect change from the start of the second 45 minutes.
Hojlund replaced Joshua Zirkzee in the 54th minute, while Alejandro Garnacho came on for Manuel Ugarte.
On the hour mark, the referee awarded a penalty to the visitors. Mazraoui took down Kluivert with a sliding tackle, missing the ball with his effort. Kluivert sent Onana diving the wrong way with his confident strike, doubling the visitors’ lead in front of a mortified Old Trafford crowd.
Just a few moments later, United’s afternoon became even more nightmarish. Dango Ouattara cut back the ball to Semenyo, who struck the ball into the back of the net for Bournemouth’s third goal.
In the 68th minute, Hojlund did well to take a left-footed shot to force a corner.
Garnacho attempted a speculative shot but goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga made easy work of it. United seemed to have no attacking creativity in the tank after going 3-0 down.
With 11 minutes to play, Hojlund surged up the field, taking a shot that veered right of the post. Another poor shot from United.
As the clock continued to wind down, United’s ineffectiveness on the ball persisted, with the visiting underdogs dominating control of the midfield.
Yoro surged up into the final third, taking a dangerous shot that forced a save from close range. It was one of United’s best chances of the game.
Amorim’s players made little other progress before the final whistle blew to conclude what was an embarrassing afternoon to forget.
Unbelievably, it was United’s second straight 3-0 loss at home to Bournemouth. Clearly, Amorim’s defensive woes are even deeper than they first appeared. Some transfer activity in January may be exactly what is needed to exercise some much-required change.
Starting XI: Onana, Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Fernandes, Zirkzee, Malacia, Amad, Dalot, Ugarte, Mainoo
Subs: Yoro, Hojlund, Garnacho
Featured image Nathan Stirk via Getty Images
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