Manchester United were booed off the pitch after suffering a 3-0 home defeat to a resurgent Bournemouth, marking their second consecutive loss to the Cherries at Old Trafford.
This defeat was United’s third in four Premier League matches under manager Ruben Amorim, leaving them in 13th place at Christmas, with just seven points from six games under his leadership.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth sit in fifth place, a position that could secure them a spot in next season’s Champions League, depending on the outcomes of English clubs’ performances in European competition this season.
United never recovered from Dean Huijsen’s 29th-minute header, as Bournemouth capitalized on United’s defensive vulnerabilities at set-pieces.
Justin Kluivert converted a penalty after Noussair Mazraoui fouled him in the box, sending goalkeeper Andre Onana the wrong way. Two minutes later, Antoine Semenyo was left unmarked to finish Dango Ouattara’s cross after Kobbie Mainoo’s mistake in midfield.
It was another disheartening afternoon for United and Amorim, who, for the third time, left Marcus Rashford out of his matchday squad.
Rashford was at Old Trafford to watch the match, and based on this performance, it’s clear that United need him back in form—and a lot more improvements across the team.
Man Utd’s set-piece shocker
It was noted that United had focused on defending set-pieces during their pre-match warm-up, but the message clearly hasn’t been received.
Earlier this month, they conceded two goals from corners at Arsenal. Another set-piece goal followed in their home loss to Nottingham Forest, and on Thursday, Tottenham captain Son Heung-min scored directly from a corner, eliminating United from the EFL Cup.
There was nothing particularly tactical about United’s latest set-piece mishap. Ryan Christie delivered a free-kick to the near post after Tyrell Malacia unnecessarily fouled Adam Smith near the touchline when the ball was about to go out of play.
Joshua Zirkzee was supposed to be marking Huijsen, but the 19-year-old Spain youth international managed to easily free himself and flick a header into the far corner.
Amidst redundancies and cost-cutting at Old Trafford, these recurring failures on set-pieces reflect poorly on United’s set-piece coach, Carlos Fernandes.
United did have some chances. On-loan Bournemouth goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga made a brilliant first-half save to deny Bruno Fernandes after Huijsen had given the ball away inside his own half. Substitute Leny Yoro also saw his late effort saved, but by that time, United were just hoping for a consolation.
While United had anticipated challenges adapting to a new manager and formation, the hoped-for “new-manager bounce” under Amorim has been brief. Christmas will be far from comfortable for the Portuguese coach.
Bournemouth’s European Dream
“Man Utd, it’s happened again” quickly turned to “We’re going on a European tour” as Bournemouth fans celebrated their latest triumph at Old Trafford.
Last season, the win came while Iraola was still settling in. This time, the victory felt more solid and significant.
There had been a sense that this type of win was coming, as Iraola’s side had been creating numerous chances in recent matches without capitalizing on them. After scoring just one goal from 29 shots against West Ham on Monday, Bournemouth were much more clinical this time, converting three of their 10 attempts.
Once Huijsen put the visitors ahead, Bournemouth managed the game well, capitalizing on United’s frequent mistakes. Evanilsen almost had an open goal but ran too wide when he rounded Andre Onana, who had rushed recklessly out of his box. Kluivert remained composed to score from the penalty spot after drawing a foul from Mazraoui, and Semenyo capitalized on a turnover from Mainoo to add a third just two minutes later.
This summer, Bournemouth owner Bill Foley optimistically spoke about “little old Bournemouth” qualifying for Europe, and that dream is very much alive.