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Reuben Amorim vowed to tackle Manchester United’s set-piece and turnover problems after nerves got the better of him in Sunday’s 3-0 home humiliation by high-flying Bournemouth.
A week after the unforgettable return to the derby, the victory over the rivals Manchester CityBoos greeted the final whistle after the defeat left the Red Devils in 13th place in the Premier League.
The head coach’s press conference was then briefly interrupted by leaks from the ceiling of the media room.
United will spend Christmas in the bottom half for the first time since 1989 Cherries followed up last season’s historic first win at Old Trafford by winning by the same scoreline.
Once again, set-pieces made Amorim’s men uncertain and Dean Huijsen headed home a first-half free-kick before Bournemouth wrapped up victory through Justin Kluivert’s penalty and Antoine Semenyo’s strike in quick succession after the break.
“Not giving anything (sic) to the opponent and then one set makes us more nervous, the whole stadium,” Amorim said after United’s costly set-piece battles continued.
“I felt it from the first minute, there is a lot of anxiety. That’s normal because of the context, and it’s really disappointing.
“Then they create a lot of scoring chances, and then again against the likes of Tottenham, they score two goals and it’s really difficult. After that third goal, everyone in the stadium suffers – fans, players, everyone.
“It’s a difficult moment, but we have to face it and prepare for the next game.”
Head coach Amorim claimed responsibility for the “difficult moment” as United refocused on a Boxing Day trip to a Wolves side buoyed by their 3-0 triumph against Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester.
This is a difficult moment, but we have to face it and prepare for the next game
Reuben Amorim
“It is my responsibility to train them,” said the 39-year-old Portuguese.
“Of course we want to progress, and at the moment everything is (much) more difficult. A club like Manchester United to lose 3-0 at home, it’s really difficult for everyone.
“Of course the fans are really disappointed and tired of this moment. You can feel it in the stadium, even in the first game, and I understand that, but we have to face it and we know what we have to do. We need to improve the kits.
“I don’t think we give the ball away as much as we do. We control the game better, we don’t give up a lot of space, we control transitions very well against a team that scores 60 percent of its goals when they steal the ball in our half.
“We managed to do that, but then in the sets, one penalty and then that moment when we have to forget the context, everything and keep the ball for a moment, not to score two goals immediately.
“This is a really difficult moment and we have to understand what the players are thinking at that moment, when you suffer 2-0, when you take a penalty, when the box is controlled.
“We will solve it, we have to solve it. It’s really hard for everybody to lose games like this.”
While United stumble, Bournemouth will spend the festive period fifth after a superb win that had their traveling fans singing about European qualification as their dream campaign continues.
Impressive Cherries manager Andoni Iraola said: “I think it’s very close now (in the) table.
“I appreciate the points. We have 28 points and these will not disappear, but they are not enough for anything.
“We still have to add a lot of points, so we’re going week by week, game by game, and now we’re focusing a little bit on (Crystal) Palace, Fulham.
“But I don’t think it’s so early that it makes sense to look too much at the order.”
Asked about the fans chanting about the European tour, he said: “I think they must be enjoying themselves a lot because you don’t get to come to these stadiums very often.
“I came as a player and it’s difficult to have a result like this, so obviously we have to enjoy it, they have to enjoy it.
“But we know how much it costs to win one Premier League game, just one against anyone.
“Winning one Premier League game is very, very difficult, so we have to continue on the same path, otherwise the results will certainly be much worse.”