Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim saw his side lose 3-0 to AFC Bournemouth at Old Trafford
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim saw his side lose 3-0 to AFC Bournemouth at Old Trafford
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim admits there is a lot of anxiety around Old Trafford - ahead of Newcastle United's visit to the famous stadium next week. The Red Devils crashed to a 3-0 home defeat to AFC Bournemouth on Sunday, with jeers greeting the final whistle.
The result means Man United will spend Christmas in the bottom half of the Premier League table for the first time since 1989, after goals from Dean Huijsen, Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo earned the Cherries a comfortable win.
Amorim, who had seen his side beat rivals Manchester City 2-1 the previous weekend, acknowledged his team must improve when defending set-pieces, something which Eddie Howe and his staff are no doubt already planning to exploit. But there is also growing tension from the stands at Old Trafford, which the Magpies will hope they can exploit on Monday night (January 30) in their final game of 2024.
"Without conceding anything to the opponent and then one set-piece makes us more nervous, all the stadium," Amorim said after Man United's costly set-piece struggles continued. "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.
"Then create a lot of chances to score and then again against like Tottenham, they score two goals and it's really hard. After that third goal everyone is suffering in the stadium - the fans, the players, everybody. It's a tough moment but we have to face it and prepare for the next game."
Man United will face Wolves at Molineux on Boxing Day before the game with Newcastle on January 30. New Wolves boss Vitor Pereira saw his side beat Leicester 3-0 on Sunday, but Amorim insists he will look to get the best out of his players.
"It's my responsibility to coach them," the 39-year-old said. "Of course we want to improve and in this moment, everything is so (much) harder. A club like Manchester United to lose 3-0 at home, it's really tough for everybody.
"Of course the fans are really disappointed and tired of this moment. You can feel it in the stadium, even in the first play, and I understand that, but we have to face it and we know what to do. We have to improve set-pieces.
"I think we are not giving the ball away as much as we do. We control better the game, we don't concede a lot of spaces, transitions we control very well against one team that's 60 per cent of the goals they score when they steal the ball in our half.
"We managed to do that but then in the set-pieces, one penalty and then that moment where we have to forget the context, everything and keep the ball for a moment and not try and score two goals right away.
"It's a really tough moment and we have to understand what the players are thinking in that moment, when you suffer a 2-0, when you make a penalty, when the box is controlled. We will address that, we have to address that. It's really tough for everybody to lose these types of games."
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