Anger sounded after brilliant Bournemouth won 3-0 at Old Trafford for the second season in a row, with Manchester United's fortunes continuing to produce mixed results under new boss Ruben Amorim.
Erik ten Hag was in charge a year ago when the Cherries last put three goals past Man Utd at home, but a change of manager has failed to change the result, offset by similar failures and clear weakness through set pieces.
The hosts certainly worked hard for no reward in the opening 45 minutes, but shot themselves in the foot after the break and also lacked the courage to respond in the attacking third, perhaps casting further doubt on the decision Amorim to rule out Marcus Rashford. a third game on the bounce.
Bournemouth teenager Dean Huijsen became the latest player to take advantage of United's lax defending, slotting in a first-half opener when he was left untouched by Ryan Christie's free-kick. And that was just the beginning of a performance that unfolded quite alarmingly.
A quick double in the second period – Justin Kluivert's penalty and Antoine Semenyo's finish two minutes and eight seconds apart – sealed the biggest blow of Amorim's short reign to date and condemned United to their seventh Premier League defeat of the season. season.
The Portuguese head coach had always warned that there would be bumps in the road, but a fourth defeat in his ninth game in charge further underlines the severity of the problems.
Andoni Iraloa's side jumped to fifth in the table, while United finished in 13th – the first time since 1989-90 that they have been in the bottom half of the table at Christmas.
Amorim: We suffer from set pieces
Man Utd head coach Ruben Amorim:
“It's difficult. In this context it is difficult to aim for two or three wins. We're trying. But this match was tough for us.
“Without any situation, we again suffered from set pieces. We were a bit nervous, the stadium.
“We controlled the rest of the first half with some clear chances, and then in the second with the penalty and then another goal, which is very difficult for everyone here.
“At moments like this, everything is difficult for us. The set pieces, the penalty, then we want to score again, but we are too nervous. We have to fight this.
“We tried to score, but in the end it was a difficult match in a difficult situation. We have to move on.”
Iraola: We were solid, not great
Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola:
“I'm glad we were more clinical today, we scored from a set play, that gives us the chance to be more of a threat because otherwise we're a short team.
“It was a solid performance. Not great, but solid. I'm happy that we kept playing the same way and pushing until the end.
“We have 28 points, that's nice. Everyone is pretty much on the same page, but to have that at Christmas is a good number. This week we have two more chances and we will try to get the most out of that too.”
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