22 December 2024
Man Utd 0 Bournemouth 3
Man Utd welcomed The Cherries to Old Trafford for their final game before Christmas. The hosts needed victory to try and move into the top half of the table, how the mighty have fallen. Part of the reason for that sobering stat is that the Red Devils have been handing out presents since August but so far, the new manager has not been able to change things.
The hosts started well and piled the pressure on Iraola’s side. Zirkzee was looking busy in and around the box, Mainoo seemed to miscontrol the ball but Amad ran onto it to whip a shot off. It was heading into the bottom corner but Kepa got down well to keep it out. Despite this, the fans were happy with the start their side had made.
Since taking the helm at Old Trafford, Amorim had not set the world alight much like the fans proclaimed he would. The manager himself has often spoken about how there is a long road ahead and there will be pain along the way. Despite seeing a revolving door of managers in the last decade, for some reason, the supporters still expected some sort of magical improvement.
Bournemouth came forward for the first time as Smith was taken down by Malacia. The linesman flagged for a free kick but the Red Devils’ wing-back had a lot to say about it. This is part of the problem with Amorim having to get a squad to play a formation they are not equipped to. Playing wingers in those positions is great going forward, but it all falls down when they have to tackle back.
Christie whipped a cross in from the touchline and Huijsen flicked it on to give the visitors the lead. Onana was rooted to the spot as the ball nestled into the net. This sums up United at set pieces. A young and inexperienced centre back is able to boss them in the air and there is nothing they can do about it. Amorim has so much work to do here.
Dalot and Amad then combined well. He spotted Fernandes completely unmarked on the edge of the box. The Portuguese playmaker then whipped his shot wide of the target. It was a massive chance for the hosts to draw level. Even in this short spell so far, it is a wonder if Ruben Amorim has ever had his hands on his face as much as this side cause him to.
Mainoo then came striding forward and fed it to an unmarked Fernandes in the box. He looked to bend it in the far corner but Kepa made a superb one-handed save to deny him. The Man Utd skipper wondered what he had to do to score. Moments later he struck a sweet shot from outside the box that seemed goalbound as soon as it left his foot. It swerved in the air and misses the far post by the narrowest of margins.
After the interval, Kluivert ran towards goal and skipped past Mazraoui. He lunged in and chopped down The Cherries’ attacker. The Dutchman picked himself up to take the spot kick. He sent Onana the wrong way and doubled the lead for the visitors. The home fans had tried to no avail to put him off with boos but he remained calm.
There are just so many things wrong with this Man Utd team right now. Heads drop far too easily and they seem to have a victim mentality about their fortunes. Firstly, the penalty that was awarded was a stonewall one. Despite the players surrounding the referee and the fans being incensed, it could not have been more obvious if Mazraoui had taken a baseball bat to Kluivert’s legs.
Secondly, they feel the reason for their poor form is things not going their way. This is not the case, it has been this way for the best part of a decade. The mentality is wrong, they have poor quality personnel and the application is just not good enough. This was underpinned after this second goal went in, there was no will to go up the other end and get back into this game.
The Cherries came forward once again, Evanlison played it into Ouattara. He ran into the box and cut it back to Semenyo in the middle, who drilled home to make it 3-0 to the visitors. The away end went crazy as they seemed to be heading for a second win at Old Trafford in as many season. Amorim looked like he wanted a plane ticket back to Lisbon for Christmas.
Man Utd then carved open a good chance to try and get something from this game. Garnacho was played in, using his pace to stay ahead of the defenders, with only the keeper to beat. His finish was terrible and made for an easy save for Kepa in the Bournemouth goal. Red Devils’ fans rate the young Argentinian but the games where he does perform come around as often as most meteor showers.
Dalot then played the ball into Hojlund. He unleashed a left-footed shot from a tight angle and Kepa made a brilliant fingertip save to send it wide of goal. That seemed to be the cue for the home fans to leave in their droves. Old Trafford looked like there were more empty seats than filled ones at this point. They seemed to be more interested in traffic than watching their team play.
That spurred the visitors into chanting ‘it’s happened again, it’s happened again, Man Utd, it’s happened again’. Referring of course to their 3-0 win at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ last season. The Cherries took all three points and Ruben Amorim even had his post-match media post-mortem stopped as the ceiling started leaking……..welcome to Sir Jim Ratcliffe era.
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