Ruben Amorim, the manager of Manchester United, accepted responsibility for his team’s defeat in Sunday’s heartbreaking 3-0 loss to Bournemouth, which sent thousands of irate supporters packing long before the final whistle blew.
Antoine Semenyo, Justin Kluivert, and Dean Huijsen all scored goals to keep United in 13th place in the standings, marking the first time in Premier League history that they have finished in the bottom half at Christmas.
“It is my responsibility to coach them,” Amorim said.
“Of course we want to improve. In this moment, everything is so hard, a club like Manchester United to lose 3-0 at home, it’s really tough for everybody.
Bruno Fernandes, the captain, had a barrage of efforts that went just wide of the net late in the first half alone, but United was unable to finish despite having 23 shots to Bournemouth’s 10. Rice everything
“And of course the fans are really disappointed and tired. You can feel it in the stadium, and I understand that, but we have to face it.”
Conceding from set pieces has become a theme of United’s woeful season and the issue reared its head again on Sunday when Huijsen headed home from a corner kick in the 29th minute.
It was the 17th goal that United have conceded from set pieces in the Premier League in 2024, the most by them in a single calendar year in the league’s 32-year history.
“Without conceding nothing to the opponent, and then one set piece makes us more nervous, all the stadium, I felt it since the first minute. There’s a lot of anxiety, that’s normal because of the context and it’s really disappointing,” Amorim said.
Amorim said the team’s struggles are “a lot of mental.”
The Portuguese left Marcus Rashford out of the squad for the third successive game, with talk swirling that the forward might not be long for the team.
“I want to see the best of my players,” Amorim said of the decision. “And then I try different things with different players, so that is my focus.”
