Man United dominated at Old Trafford by Bournemouth: Ruben Amorim’s team takes two steps back in rough week

Manchester United suffered yet another crushing defeat at Old Trafford on Sunday when they lost 3-0 to Bournemouth in the latest performance that indicated that there will be no quick fixes for the Red Devils, even under new management.

In some ways, the game against Bournemouth played out like United’s EFL Cup loss to Tottenham Hotspur just three days earlier – the Red Devils were in charge of possession and outshot the opposition. None of that really mattered in the end, though, since Bournemouth were able to take advantage of United’s wobbly defense. The visitors took the lead in the 29th-minute courtesy of a goal off a set piece from 19-year-old Dean Huijsen, while things went from bad to worse in the second half as Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo scored within two minutes of each other.

United have now conceded 18 goals in all competitions since manager Ruben Amorim took over a month ago, currently averaging more goals against than Erik Ten Hag did in 13 games before he was fired in October. Sunday’s 3-0 loss is part of a worrying, long-lasting trend at United, who finished with a negative goal difference after conceding 58 goals in league play last season and faced more shots than most teams in Europe. The defense clearly has not gotten better this campaign, meaning United join Southampton as one of only two teams in the Premier League to lose two games by three goals or more this season.

The Red Devils seem completely unorganized in the back more days than not, regardless of the manager. The goals they conceded to Bournemouth demonstrate just that, from an unnecessary penalty to Huijsen’s goal in the first half. His goal marked the 17th time United conceded from a set piece in league play in 2024, per Opta, their highest-ever total in a calendar year.

United’s issues at the back are not helped by the fact that their attack is struggling, too. Though they are averaging roughly the same number of expected goals this season as they did last time around, they are averaging just 1.2 goals per game in the league, down from 1.5 in the last campaign. The offensive issues were on full display on Sunday, when they took 13 shots but put just three on target while Bournemouth put five of their eight on frame. The same was true against Spurs on Thursday when United put only five of their 20 shots on target while the opponents had six of their nine on frame. The Cherries, though, also outdid United on expected goals, 1.78 to 1.32.

Though they received a confidence boost through their surprise 2-1 win over Manchester City a week ago, the last week alone offered several reminders of the long road ahead of the Red Devils. Though Spurs’s 4-3 win on Thursday was emblematic of an up-and-down season for the north Londoners, it was still a positive progress report for Ange Postecoglou’s side, whose identity is intact and should find more consistency once their defensive injury crisis lets up. Sunday’s result, meanwhile, was a huge vote of confidence in Bournemouth, who are now up to fifth place and just three points short of a spot in the top four. Their ambitious rebuild under manager Andoni Iraola makes them a team to keep an eye on, especially during a season in which just eight points separate fourth from 12th place as things stand.

United may still find a way to correct course under Amorim, though doing it quickly with this version of the team should be out of the question, even if the new manager is one of the game’s rising stars. Sunday’s loss to Bournemouth, though, means United have to watch another team pass them by as they battle for consistency in their post-Alex Ferguson era. The Cherries are a glaring example of what United are not – a functioning club with a clear vision, top to bottom.

The Red Devils’ decade-plus of mismanagement has led them to this sorry state, be it through hiring the wrong managers or making the wrong signings. Even as United make good decisions, which Amorim’s hire might just be in time, the club’s higher-ups cannot resist the urge to create some new form of unrest. While Amorim exercises managerial authority over Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, the former likely on his way out, sporting director Dan Ashworth’s exit forces new questions about the club’s future player recruitment. The inability to create stability, now the task of minority investor Jim Ratcliffe, means Amorim’s responsibility of building a winning team could be full of manufactured obstacles, in some ways like his predecessors.

For United, digging themselves out of this hole is not some impossible task. Whether or not this club can figure out how to do it without unnecessary challenges, though, is a different story.