Ruben Amorim says Manchester United “have to suffer again” but will keep trying to win “until the end” after a disappointing 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth.
The Cherries ran riot to pile on the misery for the Portuguese manager, making it two defeats in a week and bringing the positivity from last weekend’s thrilling Manchester derby win to a juddering halt.
Dean Huijsen put the visitors ahead before half-time as United fell to yet another set piece. Justin Kluivert converted from the spot just after the hour, and two minutes later Antoine Semenyo scored a third to put the match beyond doubt.
Amorim pinpointed his team’s nerves as a problem, telling Sky Sports after the match: “This game was hard on us. We suffered again on set-pieces and we were a bit nervous, I felt it in the stadium.
“The penalty and another goal are really hard here. We tried to score some goals but it was a tough match so let’s move on.”
United’s head coach saw some positives, with his side mustering 23 shots during the game but unable to convert a single one. “If you look at the game, we were not conceding anything before the first goal, we had opportunities,” he said.
“If we manage to score the first goal, then the game should be different. We want to score but we are too nervous. We have to fight this.”
Bournemouth’s quickfire second-half goals were a sucker punch from which United could not recover, and Amorim acknowledged that this was a crucial moment in the match.
“After the penalty, we need to control the game better because we know this situation is really hard,” he said. “We have to control better this moment.”
United go into Christmas in the bottom half of the table, and face matches against a resurgent Wolverhampton Wanderers and in-form Newcastle United before a trip to Anfield in the new year.
Amorim issued a rallying cry for fans, and reiterated that there is no shortcut to getting the club back to the top. “We have to focus on the job and not what you feel in the stadium,” he said.
“It’s the only way I know how to focus my players. We have to suffer again but we will try to win. We will do it until the end.”
Featured image Nathan Stirk via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
