Four mistakes, four goals: Amorim cannot afford another defensive collapse vs Aston Villa
Manchester United have improved massively in the final third, netting the second highest goals in the Premier League this campaign.
That attacking firepower has too often been undermined by a defence that continues to leak goals at crucial moments.
The Red Devils played with intensity and aggression against Bournemouth on Monday evening.
They found the net four times, but familiar defensive lapses meant they were forced to settle for a single point as the Cherries ruthlessly punished every mistake.
Antoine Semenyo – 40th min
Luke Shaw was robbed of the ball after he took too long to find Mason Mount.
With United’s left centre-back and wing-back dragged out of position, Semenyo burst into the space with devastating intent.
Mount desperately tried to recover and even signalled for Ayden Heaven to block the run, but the teenager held his central line.
That split-second hesitation proved fatal, giving Semenyo the opening he needed to fire Bournemouth back on level terms.
Evanilson – 46th min
Marcus Tavernier carved United open with a perfectly weighted pass between Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven.
The former Arsenal youngster needed to be sharper positionally as danger unfolded in front of him.
He lunged into a sliding challenge on Evanilson, but the reaction came a fraction too late to prevent the damage.
Marcus Tavernier – 52nd min
While Shaw and Heaven were at fault earlier, this time the spotlight fell firmly on Senne Lammens.
Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha formed a makeshift wall, but their opposite movements created a fatal gap.
Tavernier exploited it brilliantly, drilling his effort through the opening to catch the goalkeeper off guard.
Lammens reacted a split second too slowly, and Bournemouth had turned the game on its head.
Junior Kroupi – 84th min
By this stage, United had shifted to a 4-4-2, with Ayden Heaven and Lisandro Martinez paired centrally.
Much like Heaven earlier in the contest, Martinez failed to close Kroupi down quickly enough.
The teenager showed remarkable composure, burying his chance to draw Bournemouth level for the third time.
Martinez’s visible frustration afterwards summed up a night where United simply could not kill the game.
Aston Villa are flying at the moment, and errors of this nature could be brutally exposed at Villa Park.
United manager Ruben Amorim will be desperately hoping to welcome back Matthijs de Ligt or Harry Maguire in time to steady the back line.
Relying on two young defenders like Yoro and Heaven in such a hostile away environment would be a massive gamble.
Stats from Fotmob.com
Article written by Sanidhya Bhardwaj .